With less than an hour to go before kick-off between Arsenal and Sporting CP in the Europa League, teams news has been announced.
While the Gunners have started Jakub Kiwior for the first time, it was clear from the team the Portuguese side put forward that there was a man missing.
That’s Hector Bellerin, who will have wanted to face his former team Arsenal, and perhaps even get one over them.
The right-back was expected to start, but Sporting have explained that the Spaniard has ‘suffered an injury to his left knee’ during training on Wednesday.
While there was hope he could still feature, this is seen as a ‘last-minute drop’ for the Portuguese side ahead of the important fixture against Arsenal.
As for how long Bellerin could be out for, ‘there are no estimates’, according to Record, who provide an article on the matter on Thursday.
Leaving Arsenal on a free to sign for Barcelona in the summer, the Spain international was then sold a few months later to Sporting CP, who needed a replacement in the last few days of the January transfer window after the transfer of Pedro Porro to Tottenham.
