Arsenal confirm huge injury blow – player ruled out for up to 10 weeks

Arsenal have confirmed a huge injury blow with the news that Lucas Torreira has been ruled out for up to 10 weeks with a fractured ankle.

The diminutive midfielder was stretchered off during the early stages of Arsenal’s FA Cup win over Portsmouth last week and the signs weren’t good after he was spotted leaving Fratton Park on crutches wearing a protective boot on his right ankle.

The club confirmed late last week that Torreira had suffered a fractured ankle and we were waiting for the South American to see a specialist before a time-frame was put on his recovery.

That assessment has now been carried out and an update on Arsenal.com this morning confirmed Torreira has been ruled out for 8 to 10 weeks meaning he won’t be back until early-to-mid May.

The best case scenario would see the midfielder return for our last couple of Premier League games and a possible FA Cup final should we make it all the way to the Wembley show-piece on May 23rd, but it’s safe to say Torreira’s season is pretty-much over.

The Uruguayan international joins Calum Chambers on the long-term casualty list as the centre-back won’t play again this season due to a knee injury while Sead Kolasinac isn’t due to resume full training until the end of March as he continues to recover from a shoulder injury.

Cedric Soares is aiming to return to full training this week as he bids to recover from a knee injury that he was carrying when he arrived from Southampton in January while Shkodran Mustafi is a doubt for Wednesday night’s trip to Manchester City due to a thigh problem.

A team news update on Arsenal.com confirmed:

Calum Chambers
Left knee. Ruptured anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee during Chelsea (h) on December 29. Successful surgery completed. Rehabilitation process expected to take between six to nine months.

Sead Kolasinac
Right shoulder. Significant strain to right shoulder joint during Everton (h) on February 23. Aiming to return to full training by the end of March.

Shkodran Mustafi
Tight right thigh. Being assessed ahead of Manchester City (a).

Cedric Soares
Left knee. Aiming to be in full training this week (w/c Monday, March 9).

Lucas Torreira
Right ankle. Sustained fracture to right ankle during Portsmouth (a) on March 2. Still receiving continual assessments. Recovery process expected to take between eight to ten weeks.

It’s a big blow for Arsenal to lose Torreira for the rest of the season and Mikel Arteta must now rely on Granit Xhaka, Dani Ceballos and Matteo Guendouzi as his main central midfield options during the closing weeks of the season.

Arsenal travel to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night desperate for a positive result as we sit ninth in the table and eight points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea so we need to avoid defeat against City to stay in the hunt for a Champions League qualification place.