Injury expert gives update on Gabriel after Arsenal star taken off vs Liverpool

An injury analyst has given an update on Gabriel Magalhaes after the Arsenal star was substituted with a suspected knee problem against Liverpool.

The Brazilian went down in the second half at the Emirates Stadium and it was quickly signalled to the bench upon the game's resumption that he could not continue.

Arsenal's medical team appeared to carry out several tests on Gabriel's knee, with any potential injury a major concern to Mikel Arteta and his side.

William Saliba will return from his one-match suspension on Wednesday night as the Gunners take on Preston North End in the Carabao Cup, but he looks almost certain to be without his usual centre-back partner if he indeed starts himself.

Now, Twitter account FPLPhysio has given their verdict on what Gabriel's injury could be - as well as an update on the process Arsenal's physios went through in testing his knee.

They wrote: "Gabriel has left the pitch with what seems to be an injury to the MCL [medial collateral ligament].

"The physios first entered the pitch and tested for the MCL. Gabriel tried to continue but minutes later had to come off.

"Best case (grade one) we are looking at 1-3 weeks. If grade two, it's more likely 4-6 weeks, and worst case (grade three) we are talking 6 weeks or more.

"He was able to continue a bit so my prediction as for now is grade 1 or 2."

Twitter/@fpl_Physio

On Tuesday evening, left-back Riccardo Calafiori was substituted with what appeared to be an MCL injury after twisting awkwardly.

That diagnosis has not been confirmed, but Italian media report that he has suffered a grade one or lower grade two injury which would rule him out for between one and six weeks. Calafiori was not in the squad for the Liverpool draw.

The worst case scenario for an MCL issue is a grade three injury, which would rule a player out for between six to 10 weeks. Grade one injuries result in a one to two week absence, while a grade two injury is usually between two to six weeks.