‘Never a Good Sign’—Mikel Arteta Hints at Defensive Injury Blow for Chelsea Semi-Final

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta warned that there weren’t many good signs about Piero Hincapié’s fitness ahead of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea in a typically vague injury update.

Hincapié was forced off the pitch (without any help from Gabriel Martinelli) inside the opening hour of Arsenal’s goalless draw with Liverpool last Thursday. The muscular issue which the summer recruit picked up was enough to force him to miss this weekend’s FA Cup trip to Portsmouth.

The Gunners conspired to advance to the fourth round without Hincapié, although Myles Lewis-Skelly’s performance must have flagged some concerns for Arteta. Aside from a quickly taken free kick which eventually led to Arsenal’s third goal in a 4–1 rout, the teenage fullback desperately struggled up against the Championship battlers, ducking out of challenges and repeatedly failing to convince the referee that he had been fouled.

With Riccardo Calafiori also an injury doubt, Arteta’s worrying diagnosis for Hincapié could once again force Lewis-Skelly into action at Stamford Bridge this midweek.

“Probably tomorrow we’ll know a little bit more where he’s at,” Arteta cautiously revealed when quizzed on Hincapié’s health following Sunday’s victory at Fratton Park. “Obviously he had to come off [against Liverpool] which is never a good sign, but hopefully it’s not too much [time out].”

Calafiori and fellow defender Cristhian Mosquera join Hincapié in a treatment room that could soon be thinning out for Arteta.

Ahead of Arsenal’s trip to the south coast, Arteta once again ruled out the pairing of Mosquera and Calafiori. “No, they are out again,” he sighed, before offering a more positive conclusion.

“I think, pretty soon,” he continued, “they have to go to the last stage of the rehab. And if everything goes well, hopefully very soon, they will be available for selection.”

Whether “very soon” means Wednesday evening in west London is another matter entirely.

Mosquera’s absence has been largely covered by the return to fitness of Gabriel Magalhães and William Saliba, who was spared even venturing down to Portsmouth. However, Calafiori has been more keenly missed.

The buccaneering fullback started the season in fine form. After injuries forced him behind Lewis-Skelly in Arsenal’s pecking order by the end of the previous campaign, Calafiori spent the second half of 2025 reminding everyone precisely why he cost £42 million ($56.5 million). Given unmatched licence to roam around the pitch, the Italy international is the agent of chaos in Arteta’s relentlessly drilled machine.

Across Arsenal’s opening 15 games of the league season, Calafiori boasted the third-most shots in the squad, rattling off more efforts (22) than the club’s marquee summer signing Viktor Gyökeres (20).

For all Hincapié’s impressive defensive qualities, Arsenal have undoubtedly missed that layer of controlled mayhem in the six games without Calafiori. The Ecuador international underscored his lack of comfort in attack during the closing stages of Arsenal’s December victory over Aston Villa when he derailed a counterattack by tripping over the ball.

Having Hincapié back for the trip to Chelsea would be very much welcomed, but Calafiori’s return would be even sweeter.