Uncertainty for Arsenal loanee after manager is sacked

Fluminense have sacked Fernando Diniz, creating further uncertainty for the loan spell of Arsenal winger Marquinhos.

Fluminense have officially parted ways with head coach Fernando Diniz, following a particularly poor run of league results.

The Brazilian side are on an eight-game run without a league win, and it’s no real surprise to see Diniz dismissed. But it does provide some uncertainty for the only Arsenal player currently out on loan – 21-year-old winger Marquinhos.

Until this week, Marquinhos’ loan had been going very well. Though he’d had to split his time between right-wing and right-back, the youngster had at least been playing very regularly, making 19 appearances in just a little over four months.

Yet the situation took a turn for the worse last Thursday, as Marquinhos suffered an injury to his right thigh.

The exact severity of the problem is still not yet known, but the winger missed Fluminense’s fixture against Flamengo at the weekend, attending the match only to watch from the sidelines.

Fluminense lost, Diniz was sacked, and Marquinhos will now have to work on returning to fitness under new management.

Marquinhos doesn’t have a particularly worrying injury history, only missing a few games of his last couple of loans with muscle problems.

This is the first time in a while he’s been asked to play as regularly as he is now, so perhaps that contributed to the current issue.

Diniz’s assistant coach Marcao will take charge for Thursday’s Fluminense fixture against Vitoria, but Marquinhos may be unavailable for the match anyway.