Daniel Ballard has confirmed the surgery on his knee injury was successful, with Millwall ruling him out of action until March.

Posting on his Twitter page, Daniel Ballard admitted he’s “missing the action already” following his recent injury, but he’s grateful for a “successful operation” and the “kind messages” from everyone.

Missing the action already. Shouldn’t be to long until I’m back on the pitch doing what I love ❤️ Grateful for a successful operation and thank you to everyone for the kind messages 🙏 @MillwallFC @arsenal pic.twitter.com/JMoxADQOne

— Daniel Ballard (@dg_ballard) December 4, 2021

Millwall confirmed on Friday that Ballard has had to undergo surgery on his knee, and he now faces a period of rehabilitation.

The club have ruled the defender out until March, which is certainly a setback for one of the Gunners’ top-performing loan players.

Ballard had played more minutes than any other Arsenal player (loan or otherwise) before the injury, making 21 appearances for Millwall in all competitions.

He’d also made four appearances for Northern Ireland on international duty over the same period.

The news is particularly disappointing given that it’s so out of the blue. Ballard completed the full 90 against Hull City last Saturday, but now faces at least three months out of action.

The other key concern is that Ballard has a history with knee injury problems.

The only other serious injury of the centre-back’s career was another knee issue with Swindon Town that required surgery and an absence of over six months.

This time around, the problem doesn’t sound quite as serious, but it’s a shame after Ballard spent much of the last year-and-a-half fit and playing regularly.