Mikel Merino has confirmed he has successfully undergone surgery on a fracture to his right foot, likely bringing an end to his season with Arsenal and leaving his hopes of featuring at the World Cup in doubt.
The midfielder went under the knife yesterday after sustaining the injury two weeks ago and shared an update on social media shortly afterwards. “Surgery done! Already closer to be back 💪🏽. Thank you so much to everyone for your messages and love. It really gives me even more energy to face the challenge. Vamos! 👊🏽”, Merino wrote on his Instagram account.
The timescale of his recovery has already been outlined by Mikel Arteta, who confirmed the midfielder is expected to be out for four months.
That likely rules Merino out for the remainder of the domestic campaign and leaves him facing a race against time to be fit for the World Cup with Spain later this year, something Martin Zubimendi has already spoken about.
Merino’s father also gave a little more information about the injury, telling media in Spain, “It’s a stress fracture. It’s not a finger injury, it’s a little more on the inside and it’s an injury that’s not very documented,” which would fit with Arteta saying it was a ‘rare’ injury.
For Arsenal, the focus now turns to managing without the Spaniard for the rest of the season, while Merino begins his rehabilitation with the aim of returning as soon as possible. Reports in Spain say that while Arsenal are hopeful of having the player back for the end of the season, June is the real target date.