Mikel Arteta has admitted that Ben White is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after undergoing knee surgery during the international break.
Having been a mainstay of our side for the past three seasons, the defender has struggled for full fitness throughout the campaign so far, and after discussions were held between himself, the management and our medical team, it was decided the best course of action would be surgery.
Mikel admits it unfortunate to lose him for what he believes will be "months", but felt it was necessary to protect Ben from continuing to play through the pain barrier.
When asked about his availability heading into our game against Nottingham Forest, Mikel stated: "Ben is going to be out for months. It’s been different kind of struggles, it’s never been the same thing, but we had to make a decision in the last few weeks, unfortunately.
"We know that Ben is going to push every boundary but it got to a point where we had to protect the player and we decided to do the surgery. He agreed with that, and obviously it will keep him out for a few months."
When pressed for an exact timeframe on when our supporters will be able to enjoy watching Ben in action again, Mikel was unsure but hopeful it won't be a hugely long wait.
However he will have to juggle his backline once again this term and admitted the right-back spot wasn't an area he wasn't expecting to worry about much given that Ben had been unavailable for just five of 114 of our Premier League games since his arrival in 2021.
On whether there is any indication of when he'll be back, the boss added: "We have to see how he reacts post-surgery. I don't expect him to be out for half a season or year but I cannot tell you exactly.
"It is a challenge. It was something that we didn't expect at all because, when we talk about consistency and availability in the defensive line, Ben was probably the best with Gabi and Wilo. So we’ll miss him but that’s it, we’re going to have to find alternatives."
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