Arsenal new boy Merino set for two months on sidelines with broken shoulder (original) (raw)

Arsenal’s summer signing Mikel Merino is being forced to wait for his Gunners debut having picked up an injury during his first training session and it has now been revealed how long he will be sidelined for

Mikel Merino

Arsenal ’s Mikel Merino could be missing until NOVEMBER after his nightmare start with the Gunners.

The Spanish midfielder completed a £31m move to the Emirates Stadium last week from Real Sociedad. But he will not be taking to the pitch any time soon.

The 28-year-old picked up a shoulder injury after an incident in his first training session and will spend the next few weeks on the sidelines. And it has now been revealed how long he will be missing for.

It is suggested that Merino is not expected to return until mid-October at the earliest. There is hope at that the midfielder will have a chance to come back into the fold after the October international break as per MailOnline.

Mikel Arteta has already spoken out on Merino’s injury and what plan they will follow for his recovery. Speaking at the weekend, the Arsenal boss said: “Well, he had the incident and he carried on playing - and training.

“And at some point we were looking at him and thought he did not look right. That shows you how much he wanted it and he did not want to accept that was happening in that moment.

“But actually, that is what happened and now let’s use the time that we have, right now, to make sure he is familiar with everything that we are doing, how we live and what we expect of him, about our team dynamics.

“He will be in every team meeting as well. We will use the time in the best possible way and in a few weeks he will be ready. It is very disappointing because you can feel the pain of the player as well.

Mikel Merino joined Arsenal from Real Sociedad last month (

Image:

Getty Images)

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“We fought so hard for three months to get the player over the line. The club made a huge effort to bring him in and on day one for that to happen, it’s a huge blow.

“But his reaction has been exceptional straight away. We signed him for many years, not for a few weeks and we need to move on. These things can happen, it is very unfortunate but this is our reality.”

Merino’s injury gives Arteta a headache over the coming weeks. Declan Rice is suspended for the North London Derby against Tottenham after the international break. It leaves just Jorginho and Thomas Partey as the Gunners’ defensive midfield options.

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