Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus will miss the start of the Premier League season and be out for “a few weeks” after undergoing knee surgery, Mikel Arteta has confirmed.
The Brazil forward has undergone a “procedure” on his knee, Arteta said after Arsenal’s penalty shoot-out win over Monaco to secure the Emirates Cup on Wednesday.
“Unfortunately, he had a little procedure this morning,” Arteta said. “He’s had some discomfort in his knee that caused him some issues so they had to go in. It’s not something major but he’s going to be out for a few weeks.
“It’s a big blow because we had him back to his best, especially with the way he played against Barcelona and he was in good condition but unfortunately we lost him.
“We had to look at it and we had to make a decision and the best one is to protect the player and get him back as quick as possible. We decided to do it.”
The Arsenal boss also revealed Jesus’ latest set-back was related to a previous knee injury suffered during last winter’s World Cup, which forced him to miss most of the second half of the Premier League season.
“He had some irritation in the knee and we had to get it resolved,” Arteta added.
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Premier League: Chelsea to assess Nkunku’s injury
Mauricio Pochettino confirmed striker Christopher Nkunku suffered a knee injury in Chelsea’s final pre-season friendly before the start of the Premier League as they drew 1-1 with Borussia Dortmund.
Nkunku, a £52m addition from RB Leipzig this summer, had impressed with three goals during the club’s tour of the USA but came off after just 20 minutes at Soldier Field.
The 25-year-old will need to be assessed further by the Chelsea medical staff and Pochettino was not prepared to blame the playing surface, which is usually used for NFL matches, for the setback.
“The doctors are checking him and I hope it is not a big issue. He fell in the action which was maybe a penalty and he feels something in his knee but we hope it is nothing big,” said Pochettino.
“We hope he can be back quickly with the team. We need a few days to assess him.
“We took some risks because the pitch is not perfect because the facilities are used for a different sport. We won’t blame the pitch for the injury though. For me, it was bad luck.”
