Arsenal striker Kai Havertz will miss the remainder of the season after being told he needs surgery to repair a hamstring injury.
The Gunners confirmed on Thursday afternoon that the damage the 25-year-old Germany international suffered during a warm-weather training camp in Dubai last week requires an operation.
Havertz will then begin a period of rehabilitation which will rule him out until the summer.
A statement on Arsenal’s official website said: “We can confirm that Kai Havertz has sustained a hamstring injury during a training session in Dubai last week.
“Subsequent assessments and specialist reviews have confirmed that the injury will require surgery, which will take place in the coming days.
“Soon after surgery, Kai will begin his recovery and rehabilitation programme, which is expected to extend into pre-season preparations for next season.
“Everyone at the club is fully focused on supporting Kai to ensure he is back to full fitness as soon as possible.”
The news comes as a fresh blow to Gunners boss Mikel Arteta, with Havertz’s fellow frontman Gabriel Jesus sidelined by a knee ligament injury and widemen Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli both working their way back from hamstring problems.
The German, a £65million signing from Chelsea during the summer of 2023, has scored 15 goals this season, but only three of them in his last nine appearances.
Arteta’s men have not played since losing 2-0 in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final at Newcastle on February 5 but will resume with a Premier League trip to Leicester on Saturday.
They sit in second place in the table, seven points behind leaders Liverpool and only three clear of Nottingham Forest in third.
The Gunners were linked with a series of strikers during the January transfer window, among them Newcastle’s Alexander Isak, and failed in a late bid to land Aston Villa’s England international Ollie Watkins.
