Spain manager Luis de la Fuente has delivered a measured but optimistic verdict on Mikel Merino’s World Cup hopes as the Arsenal midfielder begins a lengthy recovery.
Luis de la Fuente remains confident that Mikel Merino can still make the World Cup despite the Arsenal midfielder facing a lengthy recovery from foot surgery.
Merino underwent an operation on February 9 after sustaining a stress fracture to his right foot two weeks earlier, an injury that is widely expected to rule him out for the remainder of the domestic season.
The 29-year-old confirmed the procedure had gone to plan, writing on Instagram: “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! 👊🏽”.
Mikel Arteta has already outlined a recovery period measured in months. “I think the doctors were really happy with the way [the surgery] went,” Arteta said. “Now it’s the start of obviously a long process, we’re talking about bone healing.
“So, we’ll respect the timings, and I’m sure he’s going to do everything he possibly can to speed up that recovery. The timeframes, we’re talking about months – whether it’s three, four or five, we don’t know.”
Merino’s father described the issue as a stress fracture, saying: “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,” a description that matches with Arteta’s assessment of it being a ‘rare’ problem.
With his Arsenal season effectively over, attention has turned to whether he can return in time to feature for Spain at the World Cup later this year. De la Fuente acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding the injury but expressed optimism about the midfielder’s prospects.
“Mikel has an injury for which there are no references,” he told Cadena SER.
“We are optimistic, and so is he, but we don’t know, the doctors don’t even know, how long it will take, whether he will be back in March, April, May.
“We also have injuries to Barrios, Cucurella, and Fabian, who are all dealing with some discomfort. This year is proving to be very demanding.”