Arsenal manager Joe Montemurro has said the break in play imposed by lockdown could be the reason why several of his players are now injured.

The London club gave an injury update on their squad this week and revealed seven stars, including Jordan Nobbs and Lisa Evans, were sidelined.

Montemurro said: “I do have a sort of feeling that professional athletes being out of the game for six months, in terms of the impact, in terms of just the moment, the decision making, the different scenarios in terms of football pressure and football environments as opposed to isolated training, has taken its toll.

“One of the things we’ve tried to do from day one was to simulate and integrate real football situations as much as we could. Was it difficult getting games? It was difficult getting big games and simulating high pressure situations because a football moment is different to replicating it in training and replicating it on your own at home. 

"The turns are different, the ball travels differently, the grass is different, the pressure is different, so we’d just try to replicate that as much as we can.” 

The Gunners face Tottenham Hotspur this weekend in the Women’s Super League and while Montemurro does point the finger at the Covid break being at fault for injuries he has suggested other reasons for them.

He added: "Is it load management? Possibly. Is it the accumulation of games? Possibly. Is it the long pause of games and now, suddenly, there are lots of games and there is the stress of real-game situations as opposed to training at home alone? Possibly.”