How Arsenal could line up without nine injured players as Piero Hincapie adds to Mikel Arteta woes

Arsenal have been handed yet another potential fitness concern ahead of the return of domestic football, as Piero Hincapie has withdrawn from the Ecuador squad.

The Gunners have been counting the cost of various issues during the international break, as Jurrien Timber, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba and Leandro Trossard all had to pull out of their national team camps.

Eberechi Eze also withdrew from England duty due to a calf injury, which is reportedly more serious than first feared and could sideline him for between four and six weeks.

Compatriot Noni Madueke then picked up a knee problem in Friday's 1-1 friendly draw with Uruguay, which forced him to leave Wembley in a leg brace and triggered serious concern around his condition.

Neither Bukayo Saka nor Declan Rice will play any international minutes this month either, as the pair were among eight withdrawals from the England squad ahead of the friendly with Japan on Tuesday.

Arsenal's Piero Hincapie withdraws from Ecuador squad through injury

© Imago / Sportimage

To make matters worse for Mikel Arteta, Hincapie has also now withdrawn from the Ecuador camp and will undergo medical assessment upon his return to North London.

The Bayer Leverkusen loanee played 72 minutes of his nation's 1-1 draw with Morocco on March 27, before being replaced at left-back by AC Milan's Pervis Estupinan.

The exact nature of Hincapie's issue is unclear, but the defender can also be considered a doubt for the FA Cup quarter-final with Southampton and first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals with Sporting Lisbon.

Hincapie's start to life at Arsenal was also disrupted by injury, but the South American has now leapfrogged Riccardo Calafiori to become Arteta's first-choice left-back in recent months.

Hincapie has registered one goal and two assists in 31 appearances for Arsenal in all competitions, starting 17 Premier League games and four in the Champions League.

How could Arsenal line up without injured players?

In the eyes of rival fans, Arsenal's spate of withdrawals are simply a ploy from Arteta to keep his best players fit for the run-in, but national teams would not release players without due medical cause.

All of Eze, Timber, Saka, Rice, Madueke, Hincapie, Trossard, Saliba and Gabriel are therefore at risk of missing the Southampton game, where Arteta could be forced to field an experimental lineup.

Ben White, Cristhian Mosquera, Calafiori and Myles Lewis-Skelly could comprise the defence for the FA Cup quarter-final, with Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard both operating in midfield.

Lewis-Skelly would be another engine-room option if Marli Salmon starts at centre-back, and there is hope that Martin Odegaard will overcome his knee problem in time for the resumption of domestic football.

However, Kai Havertz may be a safer bet behind Viktor Gyokeres or Gabriel Jesus, while Saka and Madueke's concerns could lead to a start for wonderkid Max Dowman on the right.