Arsenal provide concerning Granit Xhaka injury return timetable

Arsenal hammer Tottenham

The first North London Derby of the season took place on Sunday afternoon.

Arsenal would host Tottenham knowing that win would see them overtake their London rivals in the table, despite losing their first three games of the PL season.

And, when all was said and done, this is exactly what Mikel Arteta and co. managed.

Arsenal ran riot over Spurs in the first 45. Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka combined for the opening goal, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang then adding a second after 27 minutes.

It was then Saka’s turn to get in on the goals minutes later, adding the Gunners’ 3^rd of the day with just 34 minutes on the clock.

Heung-min Son pulled one back for the visitors late on but it did not matter.

Xhaka out for 3 months

An otherwise positive day’s work was marred somewhat by an injury sustained to Granit Xhaka.

The Swiss midfielder was forced off after being caught by Lucas Moura vs Spurs.

Initial reports suggested that Xhaka could be out for around 6-8 weeks:

Granit Xhaka has suffered a ruptured inner ligament in his right knee, according to @AndreasBoeni.

Initial diagnosis suggests he’ll be out for at least 6 to 8 weeks. #AFC

— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley_) September 28, 2021

However, as mentioned above, Arsenal have now provided an official update on Xhaka and it is much worse than 6-8 weeks.

The Gunners stated that:

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.

And, whilst they add that Xhaka does not require surgery, Arsenal also report that they are aiming for Xhaka to be back in action in three months.

This leaves the north Londoners with just the injury-prone Thomas Partey, the inexperienced Albert Sambi Lokonga and the fairly average Mohamed Elneny as natural central midfield options until what looks to be late December/early January.

🗞 Our latest team news update on Granit Xhaka is here 👇

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 29, 2021

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