‘The truth is’… £50m Arsenal player has actually been playing through a knee injury this season

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Arsenal have had pretty rotten luck with injuries this season.

Thomas Partey has barely been able to play, Gabriel Jesus has had to spend quite a lot of time on the sidelines, while Jurrien Timber has missed almost the whole season.

However, it’s not just the players who have been on the sidelines who have been struggling.

Indeed, speaking on The Athletic Football Podcast, James McNicholas has revealed that there’s one player within the Arsenal squad who has been playing through injury for most of this season – Ben White.

According to McNicholas, White has been carrying a knee injury for most of this campaign, claiming that the full-back is having to be monitored by the Arsenal staff as he doesn’t always communicate when he has a problem like this.

Ben White has played through injury

McNicholas shared what he knows about the £50m man.

“He has been incredibly durable, but the truth is that he’s been injured for much of this season. He’s been carrying a knee problem, but he’s been playing anyway. He’s known within the dressing room to be one of the toughest guys out there. There was a game against Newcastle a couple of seasons ago where he played with a significant hamstring tear, he was basically on one leg, but Arsenal were short of defenders and he was prepared to play strapped up. It’s almost at the point where the staff have to watch White carefully because he doesn’t like to communicate with them when he has a problem, because he wants to play,” McNicholas said.

Careful

While this is admirable as White has tried to help Arsenal in their hunt for the Premier League title, the defender has to be careful here.

Playing through injuries can sometimes aggravate underlying issues, and with knee injuries potentially being very serious, White needs to make sure he’s managing his body properly.

Yes, he’s helping Arsenal in the here and now, but after signing a new long-term contract with the Gunners, he needs to think about the future just as much as he’s thinking about the present.

White can’t go on like this forever.