Arsenal’s deep-lying midfield playmaker Santi Cazorla may not play for the Gunners this year after undergoing an eighth operation in 12 months to solve his achilles injury.

According to football.london, the 32-year-old had an operation on Monday which could see him out for up to five months, meaning it could be over a year since he last played. Cazorla, who last featured for Arsenal in October 2016, has already been injured for seven months and spoke out about his injury setbacks.

“It’s been a difficult season. Since I last played in November, I’ve been through surgery eight times, the last one yesterday, and hopefully everything will go well. I have had complications: I picked up bacteria in the operating room, the bone got an infection, the scar did not close and I had a skin graft,” said Cazorla to Cadena Ser.

“You feel like throwing in the towel, but desire to play football comes above all else. (Arsenal) were very good to me. They renewed (my deal) before my operation, the boss talked to me and gave me peace of mind. I have not been told deadlines (when I could return). It is very difficult to put exact dates, but I don’t think it will be more than five months,” he added.

Cazorla made just eight Premier League appearances for Arsenal this season, scoring and creating four goals. He’s contracted for another year at the Emirates, but manager Arsene Wenger may have to shop for a long-term replacement as the midfielder could be out for most of the 2017/18 campaign.