Bukayo Saka was taken off by Arsenal at Crystal Palace on Saturday evening after what appeared to be an issue with his right hamstring. Down, clutching that part of his leg, he was able to leave the field under his own steam but was pictured with crutches leaving the ground post-match.

In his pre-Ipswich Town press conference Arteta said, "It's not looking good he's going to be out for many weeks." Confirming later on that he has indeed suffered a tear of the hamstring although did not give information regarding the grading of the injury,

The Times however have reported that it is their understanding that Saka is due to be missing for what they describe as ‘several weeks’. This is of course a relatively vague prediction and while the term usually means three or four, the vagueness of it means we can glean very little.

READ MORE: Mikel Arteta provides Bukayo Saka Arsenal injury update amid Raheem Sterling fitness latest

READ MORE: Arsenal receive new Bukayo Saka injury update as worst-case Mikel Arteta scenario emerges

However, let’s assume that it is indeed a month of action that Saka misses, we can put together a picture of the games he will miss. For good measure, if we rule out all of January to be extra safe in our assumption, only an extra week, it means that winter transfer window is covered in its entirety.

The game this forthcoming Friday against Ipswich is certainly off the cards and the New Year’s Day match at Brentford is too. What follows is a very challenging January with four competitions in action and plenty of tough opponents.

An away trip in the league to Brighton on January 4, is followed up by the first leg of the League Cup semi-final against Newcastle at the Emirates Stadium. It is perhaps a blessing now that the Gunners got the initial game at home, the second leg is not until the start of February.

Then comes the FA Cup fourth-round home clash with Manchester United on Saturday, January 12. Ruben Amorim’s team come to town just over a month after their 2-0 defeat to the Gunners in north London – but against a side with Saka available.

Then on January 15 is the North London Derby at home in the Premier League. Saka has an excellent record against Tottenham and will be sorely missed for the game, as he will just three days later when Aston Villa visit the capital – the fixture which cost the Gunners the title last season.

On Wednesday, January 22, Dinamo Zagreb visit Arsenal for their fifth consecutive home match in a row across the four competitions, this time in the UEFA Champions League. A win would almost guarantee a top-eight finish and a straight shot to the last-16 of the tournament where certainly most would hope Saka to have returned by then.

Two more games remain in the first month of 2025, an away trip (finally) to Wolves before the final Champions League, league-phase match against Girona on January 29. The first match of February… Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium - prayers will be made by Gunners fans around the world for Saka’s return by then.