Ben White will be out for “months” after undergoing knee surgery, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed.
The full-back had an operation during the international break and is set for a significant spell on the sidelines.
It’s the latest injury blow for the Gunners in what has been a difficult season in terms of absences, with Arteta even describing it as a “nightmare”.
The 27-year-old defender had missed spells of the season due to the injury, before the decision was made to undergo the procedure.
“He’s had different kinds of struggles. It’s never been the same thing but we had to make a decision,” ”Arteta explained on Friday.
“It hasn’t really improved in the last few weeks. We know that Ben is going to push every boundary but it got to a point that we had to protect the player and we decided to do the surgery.
“He agreed with that and obviously that’s going to keep him out for a few months. We have to see how he reacts to the surgery.
“I don’t expect it to be half a year, but I cannot say how long exactly.”
White has been a crucial part of Arsenal’s emergence as title contenders under Arteta, starting 36 and 35 of their Premier League fixtures over the previous two seasons.
Arsenal have also had to go without captain Martin Odegaard for two months, while Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice had to miss England duty due to knocks ahead of the home match against Nottingham Forest.
The Gunners are already nine points behind leaders Liverpool in the Premier League, and are winless in four games in all competitions ahead of the home clash against Forest on Saturday.