Arsenal Boss Confirms Injured Midfielder Won’t Play Again Until 2018

Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Santi Cazorla is due to step-up his recovery from an Achilles injury but won’t be available for selection until the New Year.

Cazorla has been on the sidelines since aggravating a long-standing Achilles problem during our Champions League win over Ludogorets back in October 2016.

The 32-year-old has endured a nightmare recovery over the past 11 months as he’s been forced to undergo eight separate operations following a number of complications.

It’s thought the Achilles injury is now finally resolved but Cazorla is now trying to rebuild the strength in his right leg after losing considerable muscle mass in his calf.

However, it looks like the Spaniard is ready to step-up his recovery as Wenger has revealed that Cazorla is due to begin running outdoors at London Colney today.

The boss says Santi’s ankle is looking good and he’s now focussing on getting back to full fitness but the club aren’t expecting him to be available until after Christmas – hence why he was left out of our squad for the group stages of the Europa League.

Understandably, after suffering such a devastating injury, some have questioned whether Cazorla’s career is in jeopardy but Wenger is confident the midfielder will return to play at the highest level again.

Wenger is quoted as saying by the Evening Standard:

“You speak about Santi, he is having his first run today. So that is quite positive. The flexibility of his ankle looks good, his mobility is good and now it’s back to getting back to full fitness without having any set-backs.

“So it’s very difficult to predict when he will be available again. But overall, I think it’s very difficult to set a time. Not before Christmas, that’s why I didn’t involve him in the Europa League, but overall I hope that after Christmas he will be available.”

“Yes [he will play at the highest level again]. But he has not played for over a year now. He’s had a few surgeries so you are always cautious to set a time or date, but overall, yes it looks positive.”

There is no doubt Cazorla has been a huge miss over the past 11 months and he will continue to be until he eventually returns at some point in the new year.

However, it would be dangerous for Wenger to rely too heavily on Santi as he could still suffer setbacks over the next few months which would delay his comeback further and even when he is ready to return to the first team, he won’t be able to play every game as he’ll need to be eased back in to action.