Arsenal forward Kai Havertz on Thursday underwent knee surgery but is not expected to be sidelined for a lengthy period, Afrosport reports.
The 26-year-old played the last 30 minutes of Arsenal’s Premier League opener at Manchester United but missed their emphatic 5-0 home win against Leeds United last Saturday.
Havertz had scans to determine the extent of the knee injury last week, with Arsenal hoping for some good news. The forward has now undergone minor surgery and is expected to be out for weeks rather than months.
A statement from the club read: “Further to sustaining a knee injury after our recent game against Manchester United on 17 August, subsequent assessments and specialist reviews with Kai confirmed that surgery would be required.
“Today, Kai underwent a successful minor surgical procedure. He will shortly begin his recovery and rehabilitation programme, with everyone fully focused on supporting Kai to ensure he is back to full fitness as soon as possible.”
The Germany international recently returned from a long-term hamstring injury, which sidelined him for about three months from February to May.
Following fears of a long-term injury to Havertz, Mikel Arteta’s side swiftly swooped in to sign Eberechi Eze in a £67.5million deal from Crystal Palace last week.
Arsenal’s injury list keeps growing as the north London club will be without Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Christian Norgaard and Ben White for the next few weeks. Gabriel Jesus also remains sidelined as he continues rehabilitation from a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
Havertz will now miss a possible title-decider between Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday, as well as Germany’s World Cup qualifiers against Slovakia and Northern Ireland in September.
