Arsenal academy shot-stopper Lucas Nygaard confirmed on his Instagram that he has suffered a broken thumb and the Norwegian star will remain sidelined for an undisclosed amount of time.
LUCAS NYGAARD WAS SEEN AS A FUTURE NO. 1 FOR ARSENAL
The Gunners signed the keeper amid a crisis in the keeper department at London Colney. The club ran short of options at the U21 level as several young players were destined to complete their loan moves. Arthur Okonkwo left for Wrexham and Karl Hein also joins Real Valladolid after signing a new contract at Arsenal. Meanwhile, the North London side also lost Matt Hillson, Noah Cooper, Hubert Graczyk and Ovie Ejeher.
At that time even David Raya’s permanent transfer was not confirmed, and Aaron Ramsdale is still a target for several Premier League clubs. Fans believed that the new signing has the potential to become a number one at the academy level right now and hone his skills into a highly rated men’s keeper.
🚨 Arsenal academy goalkeeper, Lucas Nygaard, has suffered a broken thumb before the beginning of the season.
Get well soon, Lucas 🏥 pic.twitter.com/YY2J6m4faz
— The Arsenal Times (@Arsenal_Timez) August 15, 2024
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Nygaard left FC Nordsjaelland and became a free agent in January, and has since then conducted repeated trials with the Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain academy team over the past few months. The former ultimately roped in the 18-year-old, who has also been capped for Denmark’s U16, U17 and U18 sides. Nygaard was a part of Mikel Arteta’s roster that travelled to the United States for the preseason games, however, he did not see any game time coming his way with Hein being the preferred choice ahead of him.
With Hein moving abroad on loan, the fans expected to see the new signing take the reigns at the U21 level under Mehmet Ali.
NYGAARD TOOK TO INSTAGRAM TO TALK ABOUT HIS LATEST INJURY
However, the player has now confirmed that he has suffered a broken thumb, an injury that is considered troublesome for a goalkeeper.
He wrote: “Not what I hoped for – a broken thumb. But I’ll be back! Thanks to Andrea Cudazzo and the Arsenal medical team for taking care of me.”
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Tommy Setford will now get additional minutes as the club’s number one at the academy level. Alexei Rojas and Brian Okonkwo are also available in case the club needs rotation.
Arteta won’t dip into the market for a new keeper and will continue to develop the players present at his disposal. However, they might sign a replacement for Ramsdale, if the 26-year-old makes a move in the final few weeks of the ongoing transfer window.
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