Arsenal rocked by Gabriel Jesus news as Mikel Arteta’s nightmare injury crisis worsens

Today at 03:26 AM

Gabriel Jesus is facing another lengthy spell on the sidelines to deal Arsenal a major injury blow.

The Gunners star is claimed to have suffered a suspected anterior cruciate ligament rupture.

That’s according to The Athletic, who have stated that further specialist reviews will take place on Tuesday to discover the full extent of the 27-year-old’s setback.

A damaged ACL can leave a player sidelined for nine months to a year, meaning Jesus could not only miss the remainder of this season, but a chunk of next campaign too.

It’s the second time that the Brazilian has suffered such an injury having damaged his right knee during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

However, this latest injury has affected his left knee, meaning that it’s not a recurrence.

The forward suffered the injury during Sunday’s FA Cup third round clash with Manchester United at the Emirates – a match that Arsenal went on to lose on penalties.

Jesus lasted just 40 minutes of the encounter as he went off after being involved in an awkward clash with Bruno Fernandes.

Tracking back to tackle the Portuguese star, Jesus fell to the ground and immediately looked in serious discomfort as the Arsenal medical team tended to him.

A stretcher then carried him off the pitch, with Jesus holding his hands over his face.

After the game, Mikel Arteta said of his knock: “No update, but it’s not looking good.

“He was in quite a lot of pain, he had to come off on a stretcher and it’s not looking good.”

Jesus was a man in form before the injury.

Having only scored one goal this season until December 18, the forward netted six goals since, putting him in excellent form going into the second half of the term.

Jesus’ injury blow is not good news for Arsenal, who already have a number of star players out.

Bukayo Saka is already sidelined until March after tearing his hamstring.

The winger, who has chipped in with nine goals and 13 assists this campaign, is already proving to be a big miss with Arsenal lacking creativity in his absence.

Ethan Nwaneri had emerged as Saka’s replacement in the team, however, he’s also going to be missing for a number of weeks after suffering a muscle injury.

Elsewhere, defenders Riccardo Calafiori and Jurien Timber are out with minor knocks.

Fellow full-backs Ben White is also out for several weeks with a knee injury, while Takehiro Tomiyasu is another long-term absentee with a knee injury.

With Arteta’s side currently six points behind league leaders Liverpool, they’ll be praying for a bit of luck in the weeks ahead as they look to close the gap.