Kai Havertz injury: Will Arsenal striker be fit for Liverpool clash as Mikel Arteta shares update on his fitness?
It has been an incredibly difficult 12 months for Kai Havertz, who has been forced to watch his Arsenal teammates from the sidelines.
In February last year, the Germany international picked up a hamstring injury that required surgery - leaving the Gunners without a recognised striker for the rest of the 2024/25 season.
He recovered in time for the start of the new Premier League season, but has been out since August with a knee injury, from which he suffered complications that have kept him out of action.
The one upside to Havertz’s 2025 came off the pitch, when he and wife Sophia welcomed their first child back in March.
Ahead of Arsenal’s game against Liverpool tonight (January 8), manager Mikel Arteta was asked about Havertz’s progress in a press conference; he confirmed that the 26-year-old will be back on the pitch sooner rather than later.
He said: “We are monitoring obviously his load, he has been out for a long time for two different reasons and he is very close.
“He trained this morning again and hopefully we are going to have him available in the best version of Kai Havertz.”
Meanwhile, defensive duo Riccardo Calafiori and Cristhian Mosquera are still ruled out, although Arteta hopes they are in the “last stage” of their respective injuries.
He added: “I think [they’ll return] pretty soon, they have to go to the last stage of the rehab. If everything goes well, hopefully very soon they will be available for selection.”
On Liverpool’s end, Alexander Isak has been ruled out and fellow striker Hugo Ekitike is a serious doubt for tonight’s game. In their absence, it’s likely either Cody Gakpo or Federico Chiesa will start at centre-forward.