Shkodran Mustafi will not return for Arsenal before some time into the next season.
The German defender suffered a hamstring injury in the FA Cup semi-final over Manchester City and had to undergo surgery.
In an official club statement, Arsenal stated: “Further assessments during the week identified a significant injury to the right hamstring. As a result, Shkodran had a successful small procedure to his right hamstring on Saturday. Shkodran is now in the early stages of his recovery and rehabilitation, receiving specialist attention and support from our medical team.”
At first it was thought to be a minor setback but now, he seems to be out for at least three months. Mustafi had crawled his way back into the Arsenal first after some impressive performances under Mikel Arteta. The manager recognized Mustafi’s talents which are well suited to his playing style even if it comes with an alarming number of errors in each game.
Mustafi’s partnership with David Luiz also improved under Arteta, with the entire team’s defensive record improving towards the latter half of the season. Ideally, fans would have liked to see the back of Mustafi after the years of inconsistency he had shown in an Arsenal shirt. But now, they are not so sure.
Arteta faces a challenge in his hands with the 28-year-old entering the final year of his contract. There are several other players like Sokratis, Sead Kolasinac and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who are in the same boat as Mustafi. While Aubameyang is a player that the Gunners badly want to keep, Arteta will have to make a decision on the remaining three regarding who to keep and who to let go.
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