Arsenal defender Ben White may be out of action until mid-February after undergoing knee surgery last month, according to injury analyst Ben Dinnery.
Speaking to us courtesy of Mega Dice, Dinnery said that White’s injury could lead to him being sidelined for at least three months, rather than the more optimistic six to eight weeks that was initially estimated:
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“Ben White has been managing an issue for quite some time before eventually, the decision was made to have surgery. There’s probably been a little bit of tidy up with the meniscus and the extent of that will determine the timeline.”
“We’re looking at months as opposed to weeks, and we have seen those return-to-play timelines go anything from three months onwards up to maybe four or five months just depending upon the actual procedure and how much damage was in and around that joint. As a ballpark, I would be looking in and around three months.”
White’s absence would be keenly felt
The 27-year-old’s injury is a major blow. He has been a key player for the Gunners having started 36 and 35 league games respectively in the last two seasons.
Luckily for manager Mikel Arteta, he does have a ready-made replacement in Jurrien Timber, although there would be concerns if the Dutchman picks up his own injury, especially with Takehiro Tomiyasu also unavailable.
Arsenal have several other players on the treatment table
As mentioned, Tomiyasu is currently ruled out with his own knee problem, while there are also concerns about the fitness of Gabriel, Riccardo Calafiori, Mikel Merino and Thomas Partey.
We provided our latest update on Arsenal’s injury situation yesterday, with Arteta expected to provide additional news at his pre-match press conference ahead of the clash against Manchester United.
Read more from GoonerNews.com’s exclusive interview with Ben Dinnery. The injury expert talked about Gabriel’s fitness setback here.