Mikel Arteta blames packed schedule for Kai Havertz injury: ‘There’s no time for training’

The German, who is set to miss the rest of the season, is the third Arsenal forward sidelined by a hamstring injury

Kai Havertz faces a long lay-off from (AP)

Mikel Arteta has blamed the packed footballing schedule for Arsenal’s latest injury blow, claiming there is “no time for training” after Kai Havertz suffered a hamstring problem.

Havertz is set to miss the rest of the campaign after injuring himself at a warm-weather training camp in Dubai while stretching to block a shot.

Arteta had taken his squad away to the United Arab Emirates in the hopes of refreshing them ahead of what could be a hectic period across competitions as they look to chase down Liverpool at the top of the Premier League.

But the manager is now without his first four forward options, with Gabriel Jesus recovering from knee surgery and both Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka also dealing with hamstring issues.

Arteta believes that a lack of training time may be to blame for the similar issues sustained by his players, with the London club playing twice a week regularly across the season.

“We train less than ever, it's normal. There's no time for training,” he said. “The problem is you don't train the muscle, you expose the muscle and the tendon to something they cannot recover.

“We've had players who are injured who've played 130 games in the last two seasons so it's an accident waiting to happen when you continue to load, load and load.

"The intensity is at a different level and the demands in terms of minutes in this competitive environment is getting higher and higher and it's a consequence of that. The amount of muscle and tendon injuries is higher than ever so there's a relationship.”

A number of top Premier League clubs have dealt with significant issues this season, with Tottenham ravaged by injuries amid criticism of an increasingly crowded calendar.

Manchester City midfielder Rodri warned that players could consider strike action over the congestion in September just days before tearing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).