David Raya injury update: Progress and potential return date

16-year-old Jack Porter made history in Arsenal's 5-1 Carabao Cup victory over Bolton Wanderers but was only called into action due to an injury to David Raya.

Arsenal's first-choice goalkeeper has established himself as one of Europe's elite over the past year and has started the 2024/25 season in exceptional form. He's already won the Premier League's Save of the Month award for August after producing a stunning stop to deny Ollie Watkins, while he recently produced one of the all-time Champions League double saves against Atalanta.

It's understandable that Arsenal supporters are concerned over the Spaniard's current injury issue, with Raya now a doubt heading into the clash with newly-promoted Leicester City at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

Here's the latest news on the Arsenal stopper's fitness concerns.

What injury does David Raya have?

Mikel Arteta refused to go into too much detail on Raya's absence from the Carabao Cup third round victory over League One Bolton, but he did confirm that the 29-year-old was sidelined with a "muscular injury" and the club "don't know" the extent of the issue.

Raya sustained the injury during the fiery 2-2 draw with Manchester City last weekend, with the goalkeeper accused of employing the dark art of time-wasting during the match. However, it appears that Raya's concerns were genuine.

The specific nature of Raya's muscle injury is yet to be revealed, but Arteta is likely to provide an update on the goalkeeper before Saturday's Premier League clash.

When will David Raya return from injury?

Simply put, it remains unknown when Raya will feature for Arsenal again - even to Arteta. Of course, the Gunners could welcome him back this weekend at home to Leicester if his muscle issue proves not to be serious.

However, there is the chance that he misses the weekend match with the Foxes, and possibly beyond. Arsenal follow up Saturday's encounter with a clash against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League next Tuesday and subsequent league battles with Southampton and Bournemouth.

Who can replace David Raya at Arsenal?

Don't expect to see Porter starting again at the weekend. The youngster was promoted to the starting lineup partly due to Raya's injury, but also because summer signing Tommy Setford is in the treatment room and back-up stopper Neto was cup-tied.

Neto, who is currently on loan from Bournemouth to cover for the departed Aaron Ramsdale, will replace Raya against Leicester should he be deemed unable to feature. The 35-year-old has shown that he's capable of performing at a high level during his time with the Cherries on the south coast.

Yet to make an appearance for Arsenal, Saturday would be Neto's debut for the club should he feature. He's previously played for Juventus, Valencia, Barcelona and the Brazil national team.

Will David Raya be available for Fantasy Football?

With plenty of wildcards being activated for Gameweek 6 of Fantasy Premier League, Raya is destined to be a popular choice. The £5.6m goalkeeper has scored more points than any of his positional peers this term and has an encouraging run of fixtures.

Arteta's pre-Leicester press conference should give a definitive update on Raya's fitness, so stay tuned for that. If the goalkeeper is out for an extended period, then signing Neto (£4.3m) could be a great option.

However, given Raya is currently the most expensive goalkeeper in FPL, managers will have freedom to replace the Spain international with whomever they deem the best option. But hold off on that transfer until Arteta speaks to the media.

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