Arsenal’s Jesus out for a few weeks after knee procedure

Arsenal’s Brazil striker Gabriel Jesus will be out of action for the next few weeks after undergoing a procedure on his knee that was related to his injury at last year’s World Cup, coach Mikel Arteta said on Wednesday.

Jesus missed much of the second half of last season after he underwent surgery on his right knee in December following an injury he sustained while playing for the national team at the Qatar World Cup.

“It’s something related to the previous injury that he had, and the surgery,” Arteta told a press conference after the club beat AS Monaco 6-5 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in the Emirates Cup.

“Unfortunately, he has had a little procedure this morning; he had some discomfort in his knee that has been causing some issues and they had to go in and resolve it.

“It’s not something major but he’s going to be out for a few weeks I think.”

It took the 26-year-old Jesus nearly four months to recover full fitness earlier this year in a campaign which saw Arsenal spend weeks in the top spot, hoping to bag their first Premier League title since 2004, before they ended up second.

“It’s a big blow because we had him back to his best, especially with the way he played against Barcelona (in a friendly last Thursday), and he was in good condition, and we’ve lost him,” Arteta added.

“He’s been feeling some discomfort in the last few weeks, we had to look at it and we had to make a decision and the best one is to protect the player and get him back as quickly as possible, so we decided to do it.”

Arsenal kick off their 2023-24 campaign at home against Nottingham Forest on Aug. 12.