Arsenal star Emile Smith Rowe undergoes surgery

Arsenal star Emile Smith Rowe has been ruled out of key games against Tottenham and Liverpool after undergoing surgery on a groin injury, the club has confirmed on Arsenal.com.

The 22-year-old has been struggling with a persistent groin issue during the early stages of the new season and he’s been restricted to making just four appearances for the Gunners this term.

Arsenal’s medical team had hoped they could carefully manage the injury without the need to undergo any sort of major treatment. However, Smith Rowe aggravated the injury during the warm-down following Arsenal’s defeat to Manchester United on September 4th.

The attacker was sent to see a specialist to determine the next course of action and Arsenal have confirmed today that the decision was taken for Smith Rowe to undergo surgery.

The England international has now gone under the knife in London to repair a tendon in his groin and the club don’t expect him to resume full training until some point in December.

Blow

A statement on Arsenal.com read:

In recent months, Emile Smith Rowe has been experiencing discomfort in his groin, which has limited his training and match appearances.

Following a significant setback at our Premier League match against Manchester United at Old Trafford on September 4, and after further specialist consultations and discussions with our medical team, Emile underwent surgery to repair a damaged tendon in his groin.

This successful surgery took place in London in the past few days and Emile’s rehabilitation programme is already underway. We are hopeful that Emile will return to full training in December.

The news will come as a huge blow to Mikel Arteta as Smith Rowe will now miss a hectic period that sees Arsenal play 13 games before domestic football breaks up for the 2022 World Cup in mid-November.

The attacker will miss Saturday’s huge North London Derby against Tottenham and next week’s trip to Anfield to take on Liverpool. These matches will be pivotal for Arsenal as they look to maintain their place at the top of the Premier League table.

Smith Rowe will also miss further league games against Leeds, Southampton, Nottingham Forest, Chelsea, Brighton and Wolves. The youngster won’t feature in any of Arsenal’s remaining Europa League group games against PSV, Zurich or Bodo/Glimt.

It’s a significant set-back for Arteta – who’s already working with a small squad – and he’ll hope it doesn’t derail what’s been an excellent start to the new season that’s seen Arsenal win six of their seven league games so far.