Kai Havertz Injury Update: Latest Details, Recovery Timeline and Impact on Team

Arsenal were able to get their 2025/26 Premier League campaign off to a positive start with a 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday (17 August 2025). The Gunners are aiming to make a strong push for the Premier League title this season, but seem to have sustained an early setback in terms of their attacking depth. This comes after a concerning new update on the status of German forward Kai Havertz, who featured in their win over the Red Devils.

Kai Havertz Injury Details

Kai Havertz came on as a substitute in Arsenal's win at Old Trafford, replacing the debuting Viktor Gyokeres in the match. He produced a decent performance as a substitute, but it's now being reported that Havertz has sustained a new knee injury. It's not clear if the German forward sustained the injury during the match itself or in training later on, but he was not among the players to take part in Arsenal's open training session at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday (20 August).

It's being claimed that the Arsenal medical team are still assessing how bad the injury really is and the exact prognosis for the kind of issue sustained by Havertz. This is a major setback for Havertz, considering how he had also suffered a hamstring injury in the second half of the 2024/25 season, which caused him to miss 18 matches and provided a major blow to the Gunners' Premier League title charge as well.

Arsenal have not yet released an official statement on the injury suffered by Kai Havertz, but they're reportedly on the lookout to strengthen their attacking line with another signing to improve the depth of options in their frontline. This is mostly forced by Gabriel Jesus also being out of action because of an injury.

How Does Kai Havertz's Injury Affect Arsenal?

Arsenal will be cursing their luck with injuries in the opening stages of the new Premier League campaign, and Havertz's absence will cause them some trouble going forward. The Germany international was a key player for Mikel Arteta last season, proving his versatility in being able to play as a no.9 or even in an attacking midfield role with relative ease. Havertz's height, physicality and eye for goal make him a perfect player for Arteta's system at Arsenal.

The 26-year-old forward enjoyed a pretty prolific 2024/25 season with Arsenal up until his injury blow that caused him trouble in the final months of the campaign. Havertz made 36 appearances for Arsenal in the previous campaign, scoring 15 goals and providing five assists in all competitions. He was their highest scorer in the Premier League with nine goals in 23 league games, leading the line brightly and helping them stay alive in the title race with his key goal contributions.

Mikel Arteta will be gutted by the injury to Havertz, but there are existing options in his squad to make up for his absence. Fortunately for him, Viktor Gyokeres has become Arsenal's new regular no.9 with his arrival this summer. Mikel Merino can also potentially play in that centre-forward role, as can Leandro Trossard. In the midfield, Martin Zubimendi's addition has allowed Declan Rice to play further forward, and Martin Odegaard is always a reliable factor when it comes to playing that no.10 role.

When Will Kai Havertz Return? Recovery Timeline

Kai Havertz has sustained a new knee injury, but the exact extent of the blow has not been revealed yet. Arsenal's medical team will make him undergo the necessary tests to get a better idea of exactly how many matches he might end up missing with this new blow.

If Havertz has ended up tearing his ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), then he could miss well above six months of action. However, if the German forward has suffered a knee sprain, then he could be out of action for anything between two weeks and a few months, depending on the severity. Considering that Arsenal are reportedly looking to sign a new attacking player means that Havertz has probably suffered a nasty injury and will be out of action for the foreseeable future.