Arsenal have been dealt a big injury blow after Shkodran Mustafi limped out of Germany’s World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan.
The Gunners defender went off with what looked like a thigh injury and was helped from the pitch by medical staff.
Mustafi was running alongside Ramil Sheydaev when he pulled up, with the Azerbaijan player then twisting and turning past Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger to score a famous goal against the world champions in Kaiserslautern.
He will now likely undergo scans on his return to north London and, dependent on a tear, could potentially miss months of action.
Mustafi has started five of Arsenal’s seven Premier League games to date so far this term and is a key part of Arsene Wenger’s setup.
He arrived at the Emirates for £35million in the summer of 2016 and went on to make 26 Premier League appearances in his first season.
Mustafi isn’t the only big-name Premier League star to pick up an injury over the international break.
Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini and Chelsea anchorman N’Golo Kante also limped off for Belgium and France respectively.
Germany went on to beat Azerbaijan 5-1 and complete their 100 per cent record in qualifying, but Joachim Low delivered a worrying prognosis on Mustafi’s injury.
“With Mustafi it seems that it is muscle tear or some muscle fibre tear,” he said.
“In any case it could force him to a longer break.”
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