Karl Hein returns to London for surgery and rehab after Werder Bremen loan is cut short, with his contract in London believed to be up this summer.
Karl Hein has returned to Arsenal from Werder Bremen after suffering a serious hand injury that required surgery and has ended his season.
With his contract at Arsenal believed to expire this summer, it is hard to escape the sense that an already uncertain future has just become significantly more complicated for a goalkeeper who has spent eight years at the club but played only once for the senior side, an EFL Cup match against Brighton in November, 2022.
The 23-year-old suffered the thumb injury in team training on Thursday and will not be available to Werder Bremen again this season.
A statement from the German club confirmed that, after an initial examination by team doctor Dr Philip Heitmann, “a hand specialist in London confirmed the thumb injury on Friday”.
They continued, “The Estonia international goalkeeper will undergo surgery in the English capital on Tuesday and will also begin his rehabilitation there”.
“I feel incredibly sorry for Karl,” said head coach Daniel Thioune. “He’s a top goalkeeper who has fully embraced his role with us and given everything in every single training session.
“We hope the operation and the rehabilitation afterwards go well and that he can get back on the pitch as soon as possible. We’ll support him in every way we can,” .
After a relatively successful loan spell last season in Spain, where he was even praised by the President of Real Madrid for his performance against them at the Bernabeu, this season has seen him get significantly less playing time.
Hein has featured for just 180 minutes this season compared to almost 3,000 last season with Real Valladolid. He was thrust into the spotlight early, given his debut in the Bundesliga against Bayern Munich at the Allianz, where he conceded four goals.
Playing again the next week in a 1-0 win over St Pauli, those were the only minutes he played in any competition, sitting on the bench for 23 league games in total.
For Arsenal, the priority now will be to support his rehabilitation in London, protect their asset in the short term and, whatever comes next for Hein after this setback, ensure that the player is given the best possible chance to return to full fitness.