Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will 'definitely' be missing one of his experienced midfielders for Wednesday's Champions League second leg with Real Madrid, according to a report.
The Gunners need only avoid a Bernabeu capitulation to reach the semi-finals of Europe's elite competition, having astonishingly thrashed the holders 3-0 at the Emirates in last week's first leg.
However, Arsenal could only follow up that statement win with a 1-1 home draw against Brentford in the Premier League, which was a costly game in terms of injuries.
Thomas Partey - who scored the opening goal from his makeshift right-back role - was taken off with a knock, while Jorginho also left the field with apparent breathing difficulties.
Furthermore, Ben White was ruled out before kickoff due to a blow sustained in training, and Arteta was unable to give a definitive update on any of his players straight after the final whistle.
Arsenal's Jorginho 'ruled out' of Real Madrid second leg
© Imago
Now, The Mirror claims that Jorginho will certainly be missing from the Arsenal squad for the trip to the Bernabeu, having been diagnosed with a chest injury in the wake of the draw with Brentford.
The report adds that Jorginho could even miss a few weeks of action following X-rays, which would also see the midfielder miss any potential semi-finals with Paris Saint-Germain or Aston Villa in late April/early May.
Premier League clashes with Ipswich Town (April 20), Crystal Palace (April 23) and Bournemouth (May 3) are also out of the question for Jorginho, but there is hope that he will be able to return for the end of the season, in what will be his final games in an Arsenal shirt.
The former Chelsea and Napoli man is out of contract in the summer, and even though Arsenal have an option to extend his deal until 2026, he is believed to have already agreed a pre-contract deal with Flamengo.
However, the Gunners are supposedly hopeful that Partey will be able to shake off his knock in time for the second leg, although there has been no update on White's condition.
How Arsenal might replace Partey, Jorginho for Madrid second leg
© Imago
While the signs are promising surrounding Partey, the Ghana international is still being assessed by medical staff, and there is therefore still a chance that he may not be passed fit to start at the Bernabeu.
It would not be totally surprising to see Arteta err on the side of caution with Partey given his history of problems, but if both he and Jorginho miss out, the Gunners boss will be starved of number six options.
Declan Rice may therefore have to drop back, thus allowing Mikel Merino to occupy the left eight role, although Arteta will not want to move the latter from the number nine slot where he has been surprisingly effective of late.
The Gunners manager's only real alternative in either the number six or number eight role would be Oleksandr Zinchenko, who started in midfield against Brentford and regularly plays in the centre of the park for Ukraine.
Arteta had previously been hesitant to field Zinchenko there, but the former Manchester City man should be a viable option for the Bernabeu battle if the worst comes to the worst with Partey.
Ben Knapton
