Cape Town - Arsene Wenger has revealed that Shkodran Mustafi will be sidelined for up to six weeks with a hamstring injury.
The 25-year-old German international centre-back picked up the knock in the first half of his country's 5-1 World Cup qualifying defeat of Azerbaijan on Sunday.
With Sead Kolasinac and Laurent Koscielny already doubts for Arsenal's Premier League clash with Watford on Saturday, this news comes as a blow to Wenger.
Speaking to the press ahead of this weekend' tie, a concerned Wenger said: "The minor problem we have with Sead Kolasnic, we'll check him today, it's a hip problem.
"We've lost Mustafi for about four to six weeks. I don't think he'll be available before the next international break.
"Koscielny has a definite final test tomorrow. At the moment, he's not available. He trained on his own and the first signs are positive.
"I have [concerns about the line-up]. I think about sorting out the problem, but overall I will decide completely tomorrow the line-up because Koscielny will have a test. It looks like if he survives the test he is capable to play."