Devastating injury blow for Emery as Arsenal star is ruled out for at least 6 months

Arsenal have been dealt a devastating blow after it was confirmed Hector Bellerin is facing at least six months on the sidelines with a cruciate knee ligament injury, according to the Guardian.

Bellerin returned to the starting eleven against Chelsea on Saturday evening after recovering from a calf injury that had kept him out for a month and saw him miss the entire Christmas and New Year period.

The Spaniard was enjoying an excellent game down the right flank as he set-up Alexandre Lacazette for our opening goal during the 2-0 victory which put us right back in the mix for a top four finish this season.

However, Bellerin collapsed to the floor clutching his left knee midway through the second half against Chelsea and was stretchered from the field in distress as he was replaced by Mohamed Elneny in the 72nd minute.

Gunners boss Unai Emery admitted after the game that the first signs suggested it was a serious injury but he refused to speculate over how long Bellerin could be sidelined for until scans were conducted.

The Guardian are one of several media outlets reporting today that the results of the scans are in and it’s devastating news as it’s been confirmed that Bellerin has ruptured his cruciate knee ligament.

Further tests will be done to see if the right-back has damaged the meniscus and other parts of the joint but as it stands Bellerin will miss between six and nine months on the sidelines meaning he’ll be facing a race against time to be fit for the start of next season.

This is a huge blow for Arsenal as Bellerin is crucial to how we play under Emery and he’s arguably the one player we couldn’t afford to lose. Stephan Lichtsteiner and Carl Jenkinson are nowhere near the Spaniard’s level at right-back so hopefully Ainsley Maitland-Niles will be the man Emery calls on to deputise during the second half of the season.

Bellerin is the third Arsenal player to see their season end prematurely due to a serious injury after Danny Welbeck was ruled out with a broken ankle while Rob Holding is recovering from his own ruptured cruciate knee ligament injury.