Emile Smith Rowe has been ruled out of action for at least the next two months after undergoing surgery on a damaged tendon.

Arsenal have confirmed that Emile Smith Rowe has undergone surgery to repair a damaged tendon following specialist consultations and discussions with the medical team.

The club write that the surgery was successful and Smith Rowe’s rehabilitation programme is underway, but he’s not expected to return to full training until at least December.

Smith Rowe seemingly suffered the setback during the post-match warm-down at Old Trafford earlier this month.

At first, reports suggested that the young England international had avoided a muscular injury, and the problem was similar to the one that limited his minutes on loan with RB Leipzig a few years ago.

But clearly the issue turned out to be more serious. The only positive is that the surgery to correct the issue will hopefully give Smith Rowe a better chance at avoiding similar setbacks in the long term.

On an individual level, this is obviously a huge blow for Smith Rowe. Not only will he miss a couple of months of club football, but his chances of featuring in the World Cup are now over.

Until recently, sources suggested Smith Rowe was still hopeful of breaking back into the England squad before the trip to Qatar.

As for Arsenal, the Gunners are now very short of alternatives to Gabriel Martinelli. Mikel Arteta is going to have to get creative during a busy period of fixtures, and we may see youth call-ups or senior players shifted out wide to fill the gap.