Piero Hincapié is back. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said on Friday that the Ecuador defender trained with the group and is available for Saturday’s Premier League game against Everton at the Emirates Stadium (10:00 AM ET). Asked at his pre-match press conference whether Hincapié was fit, Arteta said: “Piero, he trained with us and he’s available for tomorrow,” according to the club’s transcript.
Ahead of schedule
Hincapié has not played since an eight-minute appearance off the bench in the 2-1 win over Leeds on Oct 10. The Evening Standard reports that he got hurt in a freak accident during a post-match warm-down and that Arteta first spoke of an absence of “weeks”. He missed the Nottingham Forest game, was not in the squad for Wednesday’s 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich, and spent the week doing individual work, which El Comercio had reported on Tuesday.
According to the Standard, he rejoined full training on Friday morning, and his teammates and the coaching staff welcomed him back with the club’s usual tunnel ritual. Arsenal’s official site said both Hincapié and Martín Zubimendi return to the squad for the Everton game, after both had been out since the Leeds win.
| Piero Hincapié | Fitness |
|---|---|
| Injury | Ankle (FotMob) |
| Last appearance | Oct 10 vs Leeds, 8 minutes |
| Games missed | Nottingham Forest (PL), Bayern Munich (UCL) |
| Status for Everton | Available (Arteta, Oct 23) |
Will he start?
Being available does not mean he will start. In the same press conference, Arteta said Riccardo Calafiori is “ready” to start a third game in a row because he had a full pre-season and has been available for every match. He also praised Myles Lewis-Skelly’s display against Bayern. RotoWire expects Hincapié to compete with both of them for the left side of the defence, so a place on the bench looks more likely than a start after two weeks out.
How it went down in Ecuador
Ecuadorian media treated the news as a boost for La Tri as well as Arsenal. ESPN Ecuador called it “positive news from England”. Most Ecuadorian outlets and fan accounts ran Arteta’s quote within hours, and some asked whether he should go straight back into the starting XI. Arsenal reporter Ryan Taylor was among the first to report the update from the press conference.
What’s next
After Everton, Arsenal visit Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, Oct 27 (4:00 PM ET), which could be a chance for more minutes. The timing also matters for Ecuador: El Hoy reported this week that Marcelo Gallardo has until Oct 25 to notify clubs of the players he wants for the November friendlies against Costa Rica (Nov 13) and Bolivia (Nov 17). Every Ecuadorian game abroad is on our schedule page, and Hincapié’s minutes will appear on the Players Tracker.
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