September 29, (THEWILL) – Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka has been sidelined for three months with a “significant injury to his medial knee ligament.” He will not, however, need surgery, according to the club.
After colliding with Tottenham Hotspur’s Lucas Moura, the 29-year-old was forced to leave the game with a right leg injury 82 minutes into the north London derby.
As Arsenal celebrated their triumph over Tottenham, Xhaka was photographed with an ice wrap around his right knee, and believed to have left the stadium in a brace.
In his post-match remarks, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said: “Unfortunately he got an injury and I’m pretty worried because it doesn’t look very positive at the moment.”
After receiving a three-match suspension for a red card in Arsenal’s 5-0 loss to Manchester City last month, the Switzerland international had just recently returned to Arteta’s starting lineup.
A statement from the club about Xhaka’s injury read: “Further to injuring his right knee during Sunday’s match against Tottenham Hotspur, assessments and scans have confirmed that Granit Xhaka suffered a significant injury to his medial knee ligament.
“A specialist consultation took place in London on Tuesday evening which has determined that Granit does not require surgery. Granit’s recovery and rehabilitation programme will start immediately and we are aiming for him to be back in action in approximately three months.”
The home supporters applauded Xhaka as he was replaced by Albert Sambi Lokonga during the 3-1 win over Tottenham.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
