Arsenal and England have suffered a potentially major injury blow after Ben White came off injured against West Ham on Sunday afternoon.
The right-back was withdrawn around half an hour into Arsenal’s trip to the London Stadium after a collision with Crysencio Summerville.
He clashed knees with Summerville going in for a 50-50 challenge and needed help from a medical staff member as he hobbled away, clutching his head in devastation.
Mikel Arteta moved Declan Rice to right-back and brought on Martin Zubimendi for White. Fans were puzzled by that call with Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie left on the bench, but Rice has played there before.
Arsenal will need to establish how long White will be absent for but the 28-year-old looked in obvious discomfort. Summerville was able to play on.
It could be a big blow to the Gunners, who only have fixtures against Burnley and Crystal Palace upcoming in the Premier League, and the small matter of a Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest on May 30.
Ben White was forced off injured in the first half of Arsenal’s trip to West Ham on Sunday
It is an injury worry for Mikel Arteta’s side as well as England – he looked in discomfort
White has not managed to play regularly in a season which had already seen him suffer three separate injuries. He missed a large chunk of last campaign due to a knee injury and surgery.
However, he has featured in all five of Arsenal’s most recent Premier League fixtures, starting four of them.
It is also a worry for his World Cup hopes after he was reintegrated into the national team in March.
White spent more than three years out of the England set-up after leaving their 2022 World Cup camp in Qatar for personal reasons.
Thomas Tuchel brought him off the bench against Uruguay and started him against Japan.
He scored against Uruguay but was booed by Three Lions fans and later gave away a penalty against the South American side.
Tuchel admitted that White will need to heal relations with some of his team-mates.
‘I think everyone deserves a second chance,’ he said ahead of the two fixtures.
‘I don’t know exactly what happened. I was not 100% interested in that as I wanted to open a new page.
‘Once I asked Ben if he would be ready to play for me and for England he straight away, and without hesitation, said he would love that and he was desperate to come back.
‘I think it’s necessary he clears the air with team-mates and I think he will when players come back, who were in the World Cup with him.’
