Arsenal hit with fresh injury before Liverpool clash as star forced off against Shakhtar

woes have deepened after was forced to leave the pitch with an injury during the match against Shakhtar Donetsk.

The Italian defender, who signed from Bologna in the summer, seemed to injure his knee and had to be substituted by Myles Lewis-Skelly. After receiving medical attention on the field, Calafiori walked off the Emirates Stadium pitch with the assistance of a physio.

A slip on the turf led to a distressing scene as Calafiori's knee twisted unnaturally, leaving Arsenal anxious about his condition.

The Gunners are already facing a defensive crisis with suspended for the upcoming Liverpool game following his red card against Bournemouth, and Jurrien Timber sidelined with an injury that kept him out of Tuesday's Champions League fixture. With Takehiro Tomiyasu also injured, manager Mikel Arteta may find himself in a tight spot to assemble a backline.

Additionally, there is concern over Bukayo Saka, who missed another game and is racing against time to recover for the clash with Liverpool.

When asked about Saka's situation before the Shakhtar game, Arteta offered little reassurance, saying: "At the moment I'm not very helpful. Let's see," he remarked. "We still have a few days."

Ben White was also substituted off at half-time of Arsenal's 1-0 win, though was on a yellow card and may have stayed on for the duration if not for his caution.

Arsenal remain without captain Martin Odegaard too, with Arteta wary that the playmaker still needs to step up his rehabilitation before making a comeback to the first team.

"Next week will be a different story," Arteta said of Odegaard. "But again, in that later stage of rehab where he is at the moment, because he's doing already a lot of the stuff, he needs to clear some markers, he needs to clear certain things, he needs to be comfortable doing things especially with the ball. I think next week will be crucial to understand how close he is."