Arsenal have confirmed that Ben White’s season is over after the defender picked up a knee injury against West Ham on Saturday.
Ben White will not play any further part in Arsenal’s season with the club confirming that he will see a specialist regarding an MCL injury.
Arsenal wrote, “Further to Sunday’s match at West Ham United, subsequent assessments and specialist reviews have confirmed that Ben White has sustained a significant medial knee ligament injury, which will rule him out for the remainder of this season.
“Our medical team are now managing Ben’s recovery and rehabilitation programme, with everyone fully focused on supporting the aim of Ben being ready for the start of our pre-season preparations.”
MCL (medial collateral ligament) are one of the most common injuries in football, occurring at around twice the rate of ACLs.
Around 75% of MCL injuries in professional football occur through contact with another player, as is the case with White’s injury. White was injured when he went to challenge for the ball and connected with the West Ham player.
Severity and recovery time
MCL injuries are graded from 1 to 4 based on severity:
- Grade 1: Minor stretch with microscopic tears – 1-3 weeks recovery
- Grade 2: Partial tear – 4-6 weeks recovery
- Grade 3: Significant damage – 7-8 weeks recovery
- Grade 4: Complete rupture requiring surgery – 10-12 weeks recovery
The average lay-off time is 24 days, though grade 1 injuries (the most common) typically sideline players for just 10 days. White’s however, seems to be more serious. The club described it as ‘significant’ meaning he could be looking at months rather than weeks in recover.
Ben White’s injury history
Ben White has struggled with a number of injuries since he signed for Arsenal for £50m from Brighton in 2021.
This is the fifth time a knee problem has ruled the 28-year-old out of matches during that time, along with some hamstring problems.
In total, he has missed 43 games, which I have to admit is a lower number than I was expecting but still amounts to almost 20% of his time as an Arsenal player, or one game in five.