In what is another major blow to Arsenal, the north London giant will be without Hector Bellerin who has been ruled out for the remainder of the season. The defender will now face a fight to be fit in time for the beginning of next season after suffering an injury in the 2-0 Chelsea win.
The Spaniard hurt his knee and was left in awful pain in what was the only downside of that Emirates Stadium victory. It has now been revealed that the right-back suffered a ruptured cruciate ligament.
Further scans and tests will be done to determine his exact lay-off. However, an injury like this will land him anywhere between six to nine months on the sidelines.
As per @DaveHytner Bellerín ruptured ACL confirmed in scan today, 6-9 months. Rest of squad were paintballing pre #MUFC. Francis Cagigao tipped by many to succeed Mislintat as HoR with Monchi among names for TD (no timescale). #AFC want 2 loan deals, 1 being Suarez but not close
— David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) January 21, 2019
This is an unfortunate turn of events for Bellerin who had only just returned to the starting lineup after recovering from a calf injury. The full-back has improved this season and has been an instrumental figure in Emery's side but has now seen his season end prematurely.
As for the Gunners, while they do boast players in their squad that can conver for the Spaniard in the form Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Stephan Lichtsteiner, this will be a huge loss nonetheless. Bellerin is now the second Arsenal defender to be ruled out for the remainder of the season, joining Rob Holding on the list.
The young English center-back ruptured his cruciate knee ligament in the 2-2 draw with Man United and will play no part in the north London outfit's 2018/19 campaign. Additionally, a nasty ankle injury will keep Danny Welbeck out of the game for the forseable future.
Arsenal currently sits in fifth spot in the league, three points behind fourth-placed Chelsea and level on points with sixth-placed Man United. Their next clash will be an FA Cup fourth round clash with none other than the Red Devils, with the Emirates Stadium being the venue.
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