Arsenal right back Hector Bellerin will reportedly be ruled out of action for the rest of November after sustaining an ankle problem.
The Gunners ace withdrew from the Spain U21 squad this week and has undergone further tests with the Arsenal medical staff which has revealed the issue, as noted by The Sun.
Despite the fact that the 21-year-old played the entire north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, it is believed that he picked up the knock in that game before being left unable to take part in training with Spain this week.
It wasn’t feared to be a serious issue, but the report claims that he will now miss up to three weeks of action which if true, means he will be absent for key clashes against the likes of Manchester United on November 19 and the crunch Champions League meeting with Paris Saint-German just four days later.
It’s an injury blow that Arsene Wenger would have been desperate to avoid suffering as his side look to avoid their usual November stumble and stay on track to compete for silverware both at home and in Europe.
However, with fears over Alexis Sanchez’s fitness after he picked up a muscular problem in training with Chile, it appears as though this could well be the international break from hell for the Gunners boss who will be desperate to get his players back to north London as soon as possible.
Wenger has warned Chile over Sanchez, as noted by Sky Sports, and will be furious if the problem is aggravated in the next week.
Given his defensive improvements and attacking threat down the right flank, it will be extremely difficult for Arsenal to cope without Bellerin who has grown into a pivotal part of the line-up and so Wenger can only hope that his recovery is a swift one with no setbacks along the way.