Carlo Ancelotti has apologised to Arsenal after Gabriel Magalhaes limped out of Brazil’s friendly win over Senegal, with the Selecao head coach saying the defender now faces a painful wait to discover the severity of the injury. The Gunners centre-back could be set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after sustaining an abductor complaint on Saturday evening.
Having already secured their place at the 2026 World Cup, Brazil are in the process of fine tuning ahead of next summer’s tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States. The five-time champions continued their preparations with a 2-0 victory over Senegal on Saturday, with Chelsea winger Estevao and Manchester United midfielder Casemiro doing the damage at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium.
However, in what could prove to be a major blow in Arsenal’s pursuit of their first Premier League title since 2003-04, Gabriel had to be substituted with an abductor complaint after the hour mark. The 27-year-old was subsequently replaced by Roma full-back Wesley Franca as Ancelotti’s men saw out a second victory in their last three matches.
Following the game, Ancelotti stressed Gabriel will be assessed by Brazil’s medical staff on Sunday as they look to determine how serious his abductor injury is, though the former Real Madrid and Chelsea manager did express his regret over the incident.
When asked about Gabriel’s injury, Ancelotti said: “Bad? I don’t know, he had a problem on his adductor the medical staff have to check tomorrow. We are really sorry for this, really disappointed, when players have an injury I hope they can recover well and soon.”
Gabriel has been in remarkable form for Arsenal in 2025-26, scoring two goals in all competitions. Such is the former Lille defender’s importance to the Gunners that he has featured in all 17 of their games this season, helping Mikel Arteta’s side rise to the Premier League summit in addition to being joint-leaders in the Champions League standings.
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