Arsenal loanee suffers injury on international duty | OneFootball

Arsenal loanee Nuno Tavares withdrew early from international duty with Portugal over the November break, after picking up an injury in training.

Photo by Marco Rosi – SS Lazio/Getty Images

Just days after making his senior Portugal debut, Arsenal loanee Nuno Tavares wasn’t involved with the squad as they took on Croatia on Monday night.

Italian outlet Il Messaggero report that Tavares was forced to withdraw from the Portugal camp with a knee issue he picked up during his final training session ahead of the Croatia clash.

The player returned to Italy on Monday, with Lazio planning to give him further medical assessments.

Photo by Marco Rosi – SS Lazio/Getty Images

Lazio boss Marco Baroni reportedly hopes it’s nothing serious, and the only concrete update the Italian report provides on the nature of the injury is that Tavares is suffering from myalgia – or muscle pain.

The injury couldn’t really have come at a worse time, with Tavares arguably in the best form of his entire career.

With eight assists in 10 games for Lazio, the start of the 2024/25 season has been a creative masterclass from the Arsenal loanee, so much so that he received his first senior call-up from Portugal.

That led to Friday’s debut as a substitute, but the player might have hoped to make his first start if not for his subsequent injury.

Photo by Marco Rosi – SS Lazio/Getty Images

If Tavares is fit to play, his next opportunity to feature for Lazio will be against Bologna on Sunday, November 24th at 19:45 GMT. Baroni will certainly want him involved on current form.

As a reminder, Tavares’ loan deal includes an obligation to buy for €9m (£7.6m) assuming the player meets certain clauses in his contract – most likely appearance clauses. So a long-term injury could be disruptive to his future, but there’s no suggestion of a serious problem at this stage.

The player will be on a deal until June 2029 if he signs, and the contract also has a sell-on clause reportedly worth more than 25% of a future fee.