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Gabriel Martinelli, an Arsenal winger, has been ruled out of Brazil’s March international matches owing to a foot injury.
The 22-year-old sustained a serious cut in the second half of last Monday’s 6-0 triumph over Sheffield United and did not play in the Gunners’ 2-1 victory over Brentford on Saturday evening.
Martinelli was supposedly seen on crutches during the latter game, but he was nonetheless called up to the Selecao squad for their next friendlies against England and Spain, which will be contested on March 23 and 26.
However, the attacker did not attend Monday’s training session ahead of Arsenal’s Champions League last-16 second leg against Porto at the Emirates on Tuesday night, which he is due to miss.
Mikel Arteta was coy about Martinelli’s fitness levels during his pre-game press conference, but on Monday evening, Brazil head coach Dorival Junior revealed that Martinelli had been dismissed from the squad.
Porto attacker Galeno, who netted the winner for the Dragons in their first leg against Arsenal three weeks ago, has taken his position, although Martinelli is expected to recover in time for the Gunners’ crucial encounter with title rivals Manchester City on March 31.
The former Ituano prodigy has had a difficult season so far, but he has eight goals and five assists in 32 games, with six of his ten Premier League outings coming after the turn of the year.
Gabriel Martinelli won an Olympic gold medal with Brazil at the Tokyo 2020 Games. He currently has nine senior caps for the Selecao, scoring one goal and appearing three times in the 2022 World Cup.
Gabriel Martinelli and Ederson are withdrawn from Brazil National Football Team Squad
In addition to Martinelli, Brazil has lost Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson to an injury sustained in the weekend’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool, which might sideline the 30-year-old for up to four weeks.
Ederson, who may miss Arsenal’s visit on Easter Sunday, has been replaced by Vasco da Gama’s Leo Jardim, while Paris Saint-Germain’s Marquinhos has also withdrawn, with Flamengo’s Fabricio Bruno taking his place.
Martinelli will most certainly be one of Arsenal’s two guaranteed absences on Tuesday evening, since Jurrien Timber is still recovering from an ACL injury, but he is steadily increasing his effort in training.
Takehiro Tomiyasu resumed full practice on Monday after recovering from a knock sustained during the Asian Cup, but Arteta could not confirm his fitness for the second match.
If Arsenal fails to overcome their one-goal deficit, they would be eliminated from the Champions League at the last-16 stage for the eighth time in a row, despite winning their previous three home games against Porto by an aggregate score of 11-0.
The Gunners went to the quarter-finals with a comeback victory over the Portuguese team in the 2009-10 last 16, losing 2-1 at the Estadio do Dragao but winning 5-0 at the Emirates.
