Christos Tzolis injury adds to Arsenal's international break worries

Christos Tzolis was taken off after 18 minutes in Greece's 2-2 draw with the Netherlands at the Toumba Stadium in Thessaloniki, and Arsenal now have another fitness issue to monitor during the international break. Sport24 in Greece, with journalist Dimitris Manakos, reported that the £34million summer signing from Club Brugge will return to north London for assessment. He is expected to miss Sunday's clash with Germany in Group A2.

Jovanovic's view of the injury

Ivan Jovanovic said the substitution was driven by concern over a muscular problem. "We don't know how much damage was done today, but I hoped it was just a twitch, something temporary," the Greece head coach told standard.co.uk through Sport24. He also said, "It wasn't a problem, like an ankle or something else. But when it's muscular issues, that, along with the doctors, with the immediate information I have, was the reason I asked for it to come out immediately."

The scene was enough to unsettle Greece's bench. Jovanovic said, "I think it was a scene that everyone saw, those who were nearby," and added that he told Tzolis to get out because he suspected the winger would not have carried on if he had not felt something.

Why Arsenal are watching closely

The concern for Arsenal is not only the injury itself, but where it lands in the season. Tzolis has already made 5 Premier League appearances and played 365 minutes for the club this season, with 1 assist in that run. If he does miss time, Mikel Arteta will be dealing with another attacker who has already been part of the rotation.

Kai Havertz also suffered a hamstring injury for Germany against the Netherlands last week, while Declan Rice withdrew from the England squad at the start of the break. Ben White, Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera were unavailable for international selection because of injury, and William Saliba remains a long-term absentee. Arsenal do not need the list to get any longer, but this one at least still needs assessment before anyone can be certain how serious it is.