Arsenal and Brazil striker Gabriel Jesus to miss opening weeks of season after undergoing 'procedure' on knee injury, says manager Mikel Arteta; problem is related to injury which ruled forward out for most of second half of last season
Thursday 3 August 2023 13:24, UK
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 season.
"He had some irritation in the knee and we had to get it resolved," Arteta added.
The 26-year-old started Arsenal's previous pre-season friendly, a 5-3 win over Barcelona on Thursday in the US, and played 79 minutes before being singled out for praise by Arteta after the game.
Arteta was asked whether the future of Folarin Balogun, who is wanted by Inter Milan this summer, might change with Arsenal a man light in attack ahead of the start of the season, but the Gunners boss was adamant that Jesus' injury would make no difference to his transfer plans.
Inter continue to push for a deal for Balogun, with one source telling Sky Sports they will make a formal bid in the coming days.
"The plans with Flo [Balogun] don't change at all but unfortunately with Gabby we're not going to have him," Arteta said. "We have other options to play with different qualities of players and we will adapt."
Here's Arsenal's remaining pre-season and Premier League schedule ahead of the first international break in September...
Arsenal will start their 2023/24 Premier League season at home to Nottingham Forest on Saturday August 12.
The Gunners then face two London derbies against Crystal Palace and Fulham before hosting Manchester United in their first 'Big Six' match of the season in on September 3, live on Sky Sports.
The first north London derby of the season takes place at the Emirates Stadium on September 24, live on Sky Sports, with the return fixture on April 27 - the fourth last game of the campaign.
