Arsenal winger Christos Tzolis is expected to be out for two to three weeks with a hamstring injury suffered playing for Greece, according to Greek journalist Dimitris Manakos.
The estimated absence would rule him out of the Gunners' first matches after the international break, including their Premier League game against Leeds United on 10 October.
The Latest on Christos Tzolis Injury
Manakos described the two-to-three-week absence as an initial assessment and reported that Tzolis would leave the Greece squad and return to Arsenal for rehabilitation. Scans were due in Greece on Friday, followed by further tests with the club's medical staff in London.
Reports in Greece and England have described the problem as a hamstring injury, with the results expected to establish the extent of the injury and his recovery time. Arsenal had not confirmed a diagnosis or timeframe at the time of writing.
Tzolis started Greece’s Nations League game against the Netherlands at Toumba Stadium in Thessaloniki before being substituted in the 18th minute of the 2-2 draw.
Moments earlier, Tzolis had beaten his Arsenal teammate Jurrien Timber and found the net, but the goal was ruled out for offside against Vangelis Pavlidis. Georgios Masouras replaced him.
Greece head coach Ivan Jovanovic said Tzolis did not want to leave the pitch. “I tell him to come out, and he says, ‘I’m not coming out,’” Jovanovic told Sport24. He said it was too early to assess the injury's extent but hoped it was only a brief muscle problem.
Jovanovic added that protecting Tzolis was more important in a Nations League match than in a qualifier. Tzolis is expected to miss Greece’s next game against Germany and return to London early. Greece won the previous meeting 1-0 in Augsburg.
Arsenal Games Tzolis Could Miss
A two-week absence would rule Tzolis out of Arsenal’s games against Leeds on 10 October and Lille on 13 October. If he is out for three weeks, he would also miss the trips to Nottingham Forest on 18 October and Bayern Munich on 21 October.
Everton’s visit to the Emirates on 24 October would fall around the expected return date at the upper end of the reported timeframe. The North London outfit have not confirmed the recovery period.
The injury affects a position where Arsenal have limited depth. Tzolis joined from Club Brugge in the summer for a reported £34 million after scoring 23 goals in Belgium last season. He has started all five of his new club's Premier League games this season.
Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, and Gabriel Jesus have all left the club, and Eberechi Eze is among the options to cover the left side. Mikel Arteta is also without Kai Havertz, who is back at London Colney and nursing a hamstring problem with no confirmed recovery time.
