Arsenal are facing an anxious wait over the fitness of Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi after both players sustained ankle injuries during a post-match training session following the club's 2-1 Premier League victory over Leeds at the Emirates Stadium.
The session was arranged for players who had not featured heavily or completed the full match against Leeds, giving fringe squad members the chance to build up match fitness. Instead, it ended in alarming fashion when Ecuador international Hincapie had to be carried off the pitch by Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier after picking up his injury. Spain midfielder Zubimendi was also hurt in a separate incident during the same session.
Hincapie, 24, had only just come on as a substitute in the 82nd minute during the win over Leeds, while Zubimendi, 27, did not even get off the bench that day. Both are now significant doubts for Arsenal's upcoming Champions League fixture against Lille at the Emirates.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the Lille clash, manager Mikel Arteta confirmed that scans were scheduled for Monday to assess the severity of both injuries, with more clarity expected to follow. He indicated that Hincapie's situation appeared to be the more concerning of the two.
"We had a training session planned for after the game for players that did not have enough minutes, to get everybody in the right rhythm," Arteta explained. "In two very unfortunate actions we lost two players. Not great."
He added: "Today they're going to have a further scan and probably tomorrow we'll know more and then we'll see how they're going to go. Piero's one looks a little bit more serious, I think, but we'll have to wait and see."
The Spanish coach was notably reluctant to discuss how Hincapie was removed from the pitch, having been carried off by opposition goalkeeper Meslier in an unusual scene. When pressed on the matter, Arteta gave a curt response, saying only: "That's something else not to discuss here."
Asked whether there was anything that could be done to prevent similar incidents occurring again, Arteta responded with a mixture of frustration and dry humor, acknowledging the inherent risks that come with football training.
"Very easy, you don't train," he said. "If they never train then they don't get injured, but the consequence to that is when they are needed to play they have no rhythm and when you ask them to play they are going to have no impact in the game."
The Arsenal boss stressed that such freak occurrences are a rare but unavoidable part of the game, noting it was the first time anything like this had happened at the Emirates during his seven years in charge. "That could happen at the Emirates - it never happened in seven years that I have been here. It could happen the next day in the training session. That has happened before and hopefully it doesn't happen again," Arteta said.
He conceded there was little that could realistically be done to guard against such incidents, joking: "What can you do? If I had a crystal ball I would just say 'guys, get in the Jacuzzi and I will see you tomorrow'."
Both players have featured sparingly this season. Hincapie has made three Premier League substitute appearances but did start Arsenal's Champions League victory over Napoli last month, while Zubimendi has made five Premier League appearances, all from the bench. Arsenal will be hoping the scans bring better news than feared as they continue their pursuit of success on multiple fronts this season.
Based on reporting from Standard Sport and BBC Sport.