The midfielder will be sidelined until 2015 after ankle surgery.
There is more bad news for Arsenal concerning injuries as midfielder Jack Wilshere has been ruled out for three months after undergoing ankle surgery, says the club’s official website.
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The England international picked up the injury after a heavy challenge from Manchester United defender Paddy McNair during the 2-1 Premier League loss to the Red Devils on Saturday.
Wilshere saw a specialist and was recommended to have an operation – which was deemed a success after the 22-year-old underwent surgery on Thursday afternoon.
This will come as a blow to manager Arsene Wenger, who already has a number of long-term fitness issues to deal with.
Along with Wilshere both Mathieu Debuchy and Mesut Ozil are ruled out for long spells, whilst captain Mikel Arteta, Abou Diaby, David Ospina, Wojciech Szczesny, Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck are also out of action currently.
Striker Olivier Giroud and centre-back Laurent Koscielny have also only just returned to the first team setup after their own issues.
The Gunners have had an inconsistent start to the season, with their defeat to United at the Emirates Stadium at the weekend seeing the North London side drop down to ninth in the English top tier.
However, their victory over Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday night has seen Wenger’s side progress to the Last-16 of the Champions League for the 15th straight year.