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Arsenal: Mikel Arteta reveals Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi return timelines as injury worries grow

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Cite

Verri, M. (2026, October 13). Arsenal: Mikel Arteta reveals Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi return timelines as injury worries grow. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/hincapie-injury-latest-arteta-arsenal-fc-b1300724.html

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Evening Standard · collected 2026-10-13 · by Matt Verri

Quick Summary

Mikel Arteta provided updates on Arsenal players Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi's injury statuses during a press conference. Hincapie is ruled out for several weeks after undergoing a scan, while Zubimendi is expected to miss only days before potentially returning against Nottingham Forest. Additionally, Arteta discussed Bukayo Saka’s performance in the Lille match despite being ill; Saka scored and assisted despite not feeling well and following a challenge from Arteta to improve his goal-scoring rate.
Written by AI on 2026-10-13, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Arsenal Injury Update: Hincapie Expected Back Soon

Mikel Arteta provided a positive update on Arsenal's injury situation, particularly regarding Piero Hincapie and Óscar Zubimendi. Both players suffered ankle injuries during a training session following the victory against Leeds last weekend.

Hincapie was initially expected to be out for weeks due to the severity of his ankle injury, ruling him out of upcoming matches against Nottingham Forest and Bayern Munich. However, Arteta revealed that Hincapie is recovering well and may return sooner than anticipated, aiming to be available within the next two weeks.

Zubimendi also sustained an ankle injury during the same training session but appears to have a better prognosis. Mikel Merino revealed that Zubimendi's injury was caused by a "freak accident" in a small-sided game on the Emirates Stadium pitch. Arteta stated that Zubimendi looks much better and will be assessed after another session before determining his availability for the match against Nottingham Forest.

Additionally, there is positive news regarding William Saliba, who has resumed individual training as he recovers from a serious back injury sustained during the World Cup last year. Saliba remains unavailable this season but is making progress towards returning to full fitness.

Written for “Arsenal Vs Lille Champions League Match Updates” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 13 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Arsenal Vs Lille Champions League Match Updates
Sports · 14 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 6% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 15 claims Outlet record 65/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 4 of 18 claims Outlet record 65/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 3 of 14 claims Outlet record 65/100
“The articles discuss different players' injury updates at Arsenal on separate dates.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 3 of 5 claims Outlet record 65/100
“While both articles discuss injuries to Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi ahead of Arsenal's Champions League match against Lille, they report on different stages of the same situation: one is about initial injury reports and predictions (Article A), while the other provides updated timelines based on scans conducted later (Article B).”
BBC News
Hedges 3 of 19 claims Outlet record 68/100
“While both articles discuss injuries sustained by Hincapie and Zubimendi in a post-match training session, Article B is reporting on the follow-up information regarding their return timelines rather than the initial injury incident itself.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 3 of 5 claims Outlet record 65/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of injuries and their timelines but refer to separate times (one on Monday, one after Tuesday's match), indicating distinct reporting points.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 8 claims Outlet record 65/100
“While both articles discuss injuries sustained by Arsenal players before or during the Champions League match against Lille on October 13, they do not describe the exact same incident and timing. ARTICLE A focuses more on team news and lineup updates for the upcoming match, while ARTICLE B provides specific injury timelines after initial scans.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 1 of 4 claims Outlet record 65/100
“The articles discuss different time periods and outcomes related to player injuries.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
65/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
14
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-13 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Evening Standard · 7986 article(s) · 66 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 66 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Matt Verri
107 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Talks over a new contract began earlier this year and there has always been confidence on both sides that an agreement will be reached.
🔮 Bukayo Saka is out with a quad injury and Max Dowman will begin a three-match suspension, after the appeal to have his red card against Fleetwood overturned was unsuccessful.
🔮 Pressed on what exactly his pre-match message had been to the teenager, Arteta said: "It was related to what could happen. "
🔮 Tzolis has stepped up his recovery and returned to first-team training, with a late decision set to be made on whether he is involved against Liverpool.
🔮 It is hoped that a decision will be made before Arsenal’s trip to face Liverpool in the Premier League at Anfield on Sunday, but the timeframe for the decision-making process is for the FA to determine.
🔮 Referee Michael Salisbury walked over to the touchline to speak to both managers and then signalled to the players that they would have to come off.
🔮 Had he dragged Bayern to the Champions League or England to the World Cup, the Ballon d'Or voting would surely have been a landslide.
🔮 “But I like him and if he continues to transform his mentality, his will, his capacity to be more consistent in actions, he's an unbelievable player.”
🔮 Madueke will want to prove he can cover for Saka not just for club but for country too and this was a very promising start.
🔮 Declan Rice 7 Set-piece delivery was a constant threat, could easily have led to a couple of goals.
Also by Matt Verri
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 107 articles by Matt Verri →

Topics

Champions League Lille Nottingham Forest

Subjects

Arteta PERSON · 8× Saka PERSON · 2× Zubimendi PERSON · 2× Bukayo PERSON · 1× Champions League ORG · 1× Hincapie PERSON · 1× Lille GPE · 1× Nottingham Forest ORG · 1× Piero PERSON · 1× Zubi PERSON · 1×

Narrative

"He wasn't feeling that good yesterday and today, because he had a sort of illness," Arteta said. "He wasn't ready to start but he was really keen to contribute to the team if it was needed.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-13
🔮 "I think it will be a matter of weeks but we don't know exactly how many."

Claims (17 extracted, 1 hedged)

Hincapie was sent for a scan on Monday and the result of that is a spell on the sidelines, as Arteta ruled him out of the upcoming matches. asserted
Arteta → send → matches
"Piero is improving but it looks more significant," Arteta said. asserted
Arteta → improve → ?
"I think it will be a matter of weeks but we don't know exactly how many." asserted
we → think → many
Zubimendi also suffered an ankle injury in that same session, though his situation is "much, much better". asserted
situation → suffer → session
The Spaniard missed the Champions League clash with Lille on Tuesday night but he is not expected to be out for an extended period. asserted
he → miss → period
Arteta indicated that Zubimendi is likely to only be out for a matter of days, which could leave him in line to return against Nottingham Forest on Sunday. uncertain
which → indicate → Sunday
"Zubi I expect, yeah [only days]," Arteta said. " asserted
Arteta → expect → Zubi
We have to see the moment he goes on that pitch, how he deals with the pain and some small feelings that he will have." asserted
he → have → that
Saka scored and assisted in his cameo, responding to Arteta's challenge a day earlier to score "two or three goals per game". asserted
Saka → score → game
"After the press conference, he was on the massage table and I said, 'Bukayo, I just killed you in the press conference, good luck tomorrow," Arteta joked. asserted
Arteta → say → conference
Read More "He was laughing, he knows that we have discussed these kind of things. asserted
we → read → things
He takes it because he wants to be the best version of himself. asserted
he → take → himself
In order to do that, you have to put big objectives challenges and try to reach them by working and being consistent. asserted
you → have → them
"When it doesn't work, keep going because he has the ability to do it." asserted
he → work → it
Arteta also revealed that Saka's performance came despite the winger having been ill in the build-up to the match. asserted
winger → reveal → match
"He wasn't feeling that good yesterday and today, because he had a sort of illness," Arteta said. "He wasn't ready to start but he was really keen to contribute to the team if it was needed. asserted
it → feel → team
He came on, he made a huge impact and delivered with real quality." asserted
he → come → quality
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