Arsenal and Kieran Tierney’s hopes of a summer transfer have been dealt a potentially huge blow by confirmation that the left-back has suffered a serious hamstring injury.
Tierney left the field on a stretcher in the second half of Scotland’s draw with Switzerland this week, with the 27-year-old clearly in considerable pain.
He has now left Scotland’s training base in Germany to return back to London, where he will be assessed by Arsenal’s medical staff.
Tierney spent last season on loan at Real Sociedad in Spain and was expected to leave Arsenal again this summer, either on a permanent basis or another loan deal.
But the suspected severity of his injury means that he and Arsenal could now struggle to find suitors before the end of the summer transfer window.
Tierney has two years remaining on his deal in north London, meaning that this window had represented Arsenal’s best chance of generating a significant transfer fee for him.
“He had an issue the other night with his hamstring and, as we speak, he’s heading home to be assessed by Arsenal,” said Scotland assistant manager John Carver at the team’s training base in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. “That’s all I can say at the moment.
“They’ll give you updates when they have it, but he’s obviously extremely disappointed. If we do progress [in the tournament], he’ll be back to support us. He’s a young lad with plenty of time and he’s got to make sure he’s right for his return.”
Tierney moved to Arsenal from Celtic in 2019 and was a key player for the club in the first four years of his time there, becoming one of the leaders of the squad and even wearing the captain’s armband on occasion.
But he lost his place in the team following the arrival of Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City in the summer of 2022, with Mikel Arteta seeking a different sort of player in the left-back position.
Tierney has said he thoroughly enjoyed his loan spell in Spain last season, even though it was impacted by injuries. He finished the campaign with 26 appearances in all competitions.
Arsenal have been looking at strengthening the left side of their defence this summer and had shown strong interest in Jorrel Hato, the Ajax teenager and Dutch international. Hato has since decided to sign a new contract at Ajax, though, and has made it clear he does not wish to leave the club this summer.
It remains to be seen whether Arsenal will continue to pursue another left-sided defender following news of Tierney’s injury. Such a move would be made more challenging, in terms of squad balance and finances, if Tierney cannot secure a transfer elsewhere.
