Thursday 3 September 2015 23:09, UK
Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck will be out for "a period of months" after undergoing knee surgery, it has been confirmed.
The 24-year-old England forward's left knee was operated on after it was established that he could not step up his rehabilitation work.
Welbeck has been working throughout the summer to recover from the injury sustained at the end of April.
A statement on Arsenal's official website said: "It had been hoped he would avoid surgery but after increasing his training workload, the injury to his cartilage did not respond as well as hoped and the decision was taken last week for him to undergo surgery by a leading specialist in the field.
"Danny is now expected to be out for a period of months and everyone at Arsenal wishes him well."
Welbeck scored eight times for Arsenal last season after being signed from Manchester United on the final day of the 2014 summer transfer window.
He missed the back end of last season, including the FA Cup final and England's internationals. Only Robert Lewandowski (seven) had scored more goals than Welbeck in the European Qualifiers ahead of the September fixtures.
Arsenal only made one new addition during the transfer window, paying Chelsea £11m for goalkeeper Petr Cech and their transfer policy was criticised by both the Arsenal Supporters' Trust and former player Paul Merson, who felt their strategy "cheated" the fans.
