Noni Madueke injury: Christmas prediction made as Arsenal, Mikel Arteta suffer "massive blow"

Arsenal winger Noni Madueke is unlikely to be back up to full speed until around Christmastime following the news of his serious knee injury, Charles Watts has warned.

On Tuesday morning, Gooners were rocked by reports claiming that the England international would be missing for two months as a result of the knee issue he sustained in Sunday's 1-1 Premier League draw with Manchester City.

Madueke was brought off at half time in that clash with the Citizens - a confusing decision at the time given his promising performance on the right wing - but one that made sense once Mikel Arteta revealed he had damaged his knee at the Emirates.

Madueke is now at risk of missing up to 18 matches for both Arsenal and England, and even if the 23-year-old is cleared to return in late November, Watts fears that he will not be back to peak condition until mid-December.

“A huge blow," Watts said. "It's obviously not the worst-case scenario, so you temper it with that a little bit, but it's just a huge blow. Two months, and then it might take him a while to get back up and running. Once he does come back, then you're looking at the Christmas period almost.

Madueke injury a "massive, massive blow" for Arsenal

“It's just a massive, massive blow. There's no other way around it. We spoke about what it's going to mean for Bukayo Saka and how many minutes he's going to have to play, but also what it means for Madueke.

“New to the club, made such a big impact, looks so exciting. And then bang, suddenly you're on the treatment table straight away for a really innocuous thing as well. An incident that no one even spotted.”

Madueke - who has at least avoided a potentially season-ending ACL injury - was substituted for his superior Bukayo Saka at the weekend, and the latter's recovery from a hamstring problem has eased Arsenal's concerns on the right-hand side ever so slightly.

However, Arteta will surely be loath to start the 24-year-old in every game Madueke might miss given his recent muscular concerns, having also spent three months on the sidelines last season with a more severe hamstring injury.

The Gunners boss is currently trying to mould Ethan Nwaneri into a central player, hence his reluctance to deploy him on the right flank this season, but he has not hesitated to give minutes to 15-year-old Max Dowman in the attacking triumvirate.

The 2009-born product has come off the bench against Leeds United and Liverpool, and Watts fully expects Dowman to make his first Arsenal start soon enough following Madueke's injury.

Max Dowman starting prediction made after Madueke injury

“It really depends on how determined Arsenal are not to play Ethan Nwaneri on the right-hand side," he added. "And so far it's looked like they've been pretty determined not to do that. They want to see him play centrally from this point onwards.

“So if that is the plan and they're going to absolutely stick to it, then Dowman's going to have to play some games. I don't think he can start Saka week after week after week.

“But if you're going to throw him on in a game you're trying to win at Anfield, you can start him at home against some teams. I don't think there'll be any fear in that.

“What we've seen from Dowman at the moment suggests that he can hurt any team, no matter how old and experienced the defenders are. So I think we'll see him start.”

Dowman could potentially make his first Arsenal start in Wednesday's EFL Cup third-round clash with Port Vale, where Arteta will ring the changes ahead of Sunday's Premier League match against Newcastle United at St James' Park.

However, Viktor Gyokeres is likely to keep his place at the tip of the attack, and Watts also pinpointed the one major issue with the Swedish striker after another anonymous display in the draw with Man City.

> Click here to listen to the full discussion about Madueke's injury and Dowman's first-team prospects