ARSENAL expect Kai Havertz to be fully fit and firing after the international break.
The Gunners striker pulled out of Germany duty at the weekend with “knee problems” – missing Nations League clashes against Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Netherlands.
Havertz, 25, played the full 90 minutes in a 3-1 Prem win over Southampton on Saturday, scoring at the Emirates for the seventh game in a row in all competitions.
But SunSport understands the German star has been managing a minor knee issue since the end of last season – something that he carried over into the Euros.
Havertz has not been immune to knee knocks in his career, but they have seen him miss just two club games – one apiece at Bayer Leverkusen and Chelsea – since August 2017.
In order to avoid any further damage or stress on the area, Havertz will remain at London Colney during this break for some much-needed rest and recovery before facing Bournemouth on October 19.
Yet the Arsenal are not losing sleep over the player’s fitness, in the knowledge it is simply the wear and tear of an intense few months of football.
Havertz played the full 90 minutes in 11 of Arsenal’s remaining 16 Prem games last season before doing the same in three of Germany’s five Euros outings in the summer.
This term, he has started and finished all but one of the club’s 12 games in all competitions, such has been his influence with six goals already – including four in his last four.
As such, this 12-day break before travelling to the Cherries has come at the perfect time with Mikel Arteta’s first-choice striker playing with a slight discomfort.
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Not that it is showing on the pitch, currently in the form of his life and one of Arteta’s most important figures in Arsenal’s title push having also netted 14 in 51 games last term.
And Arteta needs Havertz at his best for a gruelling upcoming fixture slog that includes taking on title rivals Liverpool at home on October 27.
After that, three tough trips on the bounce to Newcastle, Inter Milan and then Chelsea.
Arsenal will be hoping to have several other big names back for that run, including skipper Martin Odegaard and defensive trio Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jurrien Timber and Ben White.
