Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal, expressed his optimism that Bukayo Saka’s injury sustained during Sunday’s victory over Nottingham Forest would not jeopardize his ability to represent England at the World Cup.

After being tackled by Forest full-back Renan Lodi during Arsenal’s 5-0 triumph, Saka was forced to leave the field.

The 21-year-old, who was named the male player of the year for England, is anticipated to travel to Qatar with Gareth Southgate’s team.

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“Hopefully not,” Arteta said when asked if Saka was a World Cup doubt.

“It was a bad kick. Right from the beginning he was limping, but I don’t see any further than that. Let’s see how he is in the next couple of days.

“He got kicked a few times and he wasn’t comfortable.”

Iran will be England’s opponent in their opening World Cup match on Monday, November 21.

In the first minute of the game against Forest, Lodi made a strong tackle on Saka, who has four goals in 20 appearances for England.

He bounced back to help Gabriel Martinelli score the opening goal, but twice he needed medical attention before being taken out after 27 minutes.

Reiss Nelson took over for Saka and scored two goals and added an assist in his first Arsenal game since August 2021.

Since making his Arsenal debut in 2017, Nelson has spent time on loan at Hoffenheim and Feyenoord. Arteta lauded the 22-year-old for seizing a rare chance to impress.

“I think not only me but all his team-mates, all the staff are so happy for him because he is a kid that is really changing, he’s really evolving, he’s really maturing,” said Arteta.

“He’s showing every day how much he wants it and today he had the opportunity and he did extremely well because it helped us win the game.”

Asked how Nelson has changed, Arteta added: “How mature he is, how focused he is in his profession.

“The way he talks, the way he reflects, the way he respects decisions, the way he is challenging everybody every single day.

“He is a joy of a kid. We all want him to be successful and do well. What he has done today for the team is something he really merits.”

With two points more than Manchester City after the victory, Arsenal reclaimed first place in the Premier League.

“It is great to be there, we knew we had a difficult game ahead of us,” Arteta said.

“It is always difficult to win in this league and we knew it was a tricky game after travelling [for the Europa League in midweek].

“We played really well and scored some fantastic goals.”