"Yesterday he had a collision and he has a shoulder injury," Mikel Arteta said back in August. "It looks like he’s going to be out for a few weeks. "He was really excited and everything was looking really good. He landed on the floor and Gabi landed on top of him and it looks like he has a small fracture, probably."
The original diagnosis for Merino was six weeks and Arteta has already revealed his plan to keep him close to the squad alongside his recovery. The 28-year-old appears to be settling in well with his Gunners' teammates and was captured in public at David Raya's birthday without his arm sling as well as the first-term photoshoot.
Merino won't be involved for Arsenal's trip to the Etihad this weekend with mid-October a more plausible return date with a November return the worst-case scenario. It means the Spaniard will miss games against Bolton, Leicester City, PSG and Southampton with the international break a sensible target.
The Gunners face Bournemouth on October 19th, before a Champions League clash with Shakhtar Donetsk in midweek. The busy schedule gives Arteta plenty of opportunities to ease Merino back into the squad, with a tough test against Liverpool to round off October.
The Arsenal boss will take care integrating him back into the group given his injury was an impact one rather than a muscular injury, especially given Arteta's training sessions are very intense.
A trip to Newcastle United at the beginning of November is another potential date for Merino to return, should his injury lay-off be worse than first expected. Games against Inter Milan and Chelsea follow that trip to St. James' Park in a tough run of fixtures, but one that Arteta's side will relish.
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