Arsenal loanee undergoes surgery as club statement confirms 'season is over'

• 

• Arsenal
• Arsenal News
• Arsenal injury news

Arsenal goalkeeper Karl Hein made just two appearances while on loan at Werder Bremen in Germany

Arsenal goalkeeper Karl Hein has confirmed he has undergone successful surgery on his thumb.

The Estonia international picked up the problem during a training session with Werder Bremen and flew back to London to see a specialist before going under the knife.

He has since revealed all has gone to plan, posting a picture on Instagram from a hospital bed, captioned: "Part of the journey. Lions don't recover like people. Back soon."

Werder Bremen have already confirmed via a club statement that Hein's season is over, even though he only played two games for the German club during his season-long loan.

FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE! Latest Gunners news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

They said: "Bitter news for Werder Bremen and goalkeeper Karl Hein: the 23-year-old suffered a serious hand injury in team training on Thursday and will not be available to the Green-Whites again this season.

"After an initial examination by team doctor Dr Philip Heitmann on Thursday afternoon, a hand specialist in London confirmed the thumb injury on Friday. The Estonia international goalkeeper will undergo surgery in the English capital on Tuesday and will also begin his rehabilitation there."

Werder Bremen boss Daniel Thioune said: "I feel incredibly sorry for Karl. He’s a top goalkeeper who has fully embraced his role with us and given everything in every single training session.

"We hope the operation and the rehabilitation afterwards go well and that he can get back on the pitch as soon as possible. We’ll support him in every way we can."

Hein's contract with Arsenal is set to expire this summer, providing the Gunners do not trigger a 12-month extension option.

Werder also have an option to buy Hein, which does not appear likely to be activated at this stage.

He has found minutes hard to come by in Germany with Werder and has now missed out on a chance to feature for his country in a friendly against Kenya in Africa.

Arsenal's goalkeeping set-up is very strong with David Raya operating as their No.1, Kepa Arriazabalga as the back-up and Tommy Setford supporting both Spaniards.

Hein was previously wanted by Levante last summer and he has also previously spent time on loan at Reading and with Real Valladolid in Spain.

The chances of him signing a contract extension with the Gunners appear slim at this stage. Last summer, he missed the club's pre-season tour on Hong Kong and Singapore due to a thumb injury.