London, April 3 (IANS) Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes has been ruled out for the season owing to a hamstring injury that requires surgery, the club announced on Thursday. The 27-year-old Brazilian sustained the injury during Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Fulham on Wednesday and was substituted immediately.
“Further to being substituted during our match against Fulham on Tuesday, we can confirm that Gabriel Magalhaes has sustained a hamstring injury which requires surgery. Gabi will undergo a surgical repair procedure to his hamstring in the coming days, and immediately begin his recovery and rehabilitation programme, to be ready for the start of next season,” Arsenal said in a statement. “Everyone at the club will be fully focused on supporting Gabi to ensure he is back to full fitness as soon as possible,” it added.
The news comes just ahead of Arsenal’s Champions League quarterfinal clash with Real Madrid and is a major setback for Mikel Arteta.
The London side was already missing defenders Riccardo Calafiori, Ben White, and Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Jurrien Timber also picked up a knee injury during the Fulham match.
After the win against Fulham, Arteta said, “There are two players in this team that never want to come off. Gabi felt something in his hamstring, we don’t know how big that is, and with Jurrien as well, he was already struggling very early in the game. He managed to continue, and at some point, he couldn’t, so that’s the downside to it.”
Arsenal are trailing Liverpool by 12 points in the title race, with only eight games remaining. Meanwhile, they will host Real Madrid for the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal next week.
Additionally, the club has already lost strikers Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus to season-ending injuries earlier this year.
–IANS
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