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Arsenal has announced that Kai Havertz has undergone surgery to address a knee injury, but it's not anticipated that he'll be out of action for an extended period.
Yet the forward will miss Sunday's crunch Premier League game against Liverpool in a boost for Arne Slot and his team. The 26-year-old German injured his knee during training last week, and Mikel Arteta stated that more tests were needed to ascertain the length of his absence.
Following Havertz's injury, Arsenal secured the signing of Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace. The Gunners had already strengthened their attacking line-up with the additions of Viktor Gyokeres and Noni Madueke.
Havertz had only recently made a comeback from a long-term hamstring problem, which resulted in him missing the final three months of the previous season. Now, the former Chelsea forward is expected to be sidelined for weeks, not months, following his surgery.
In a statement released on Thursday, Arsenal confirmed: "Today, Kai underwent a successful minor surgical procedure.
"He will shortly begin his recovery and rehabilitation programme, with everyone fully focused on supporting Kai to ensure he is back to full fitness as soon as possible."
Arteta had previously remarked: "He's got an injury, we don't really know the extent of it. I think we need a bit more time and more tests. I think after that we'll have more clarity about next steps.
"I don't want to speak about the specifics. He's not fit, we need to explore that issue a bit further, and then decide what we're going to do.
"He cannot play tomorrow (Saturday's 5-0 win against Leeds). I would love to have him fresh and available, and bringing what he brings to the team. Unfortunately, that's not going to be possible.
"Mentally, he's in a good place because he's a strong boy, very committed. He had an incredible recovery from the hamstring surgery, he never had an injury before, so it was the first experience.
"Now he has a setback, we'll see how bad it is, but he will deal with it in the best possible way. Hopefully, we're going to have him soon."
Havertz was subsequently omitted from Germany's squad for the country's forthcoming World Cup qualifying matches. "He certainly won't make it," Rudi Voller, the national team director, informed reporters on Tuesday.
"We don't know exactly how it will go in the coming weeks, whether surgery is upcoming or it will be treated conservatively."
Havertz featured for 30 minutes in Arsenal's season opener away to Manchester United, a hard-earned 1-0 triumph. Gyokeres was selected to start in his place, and while he didn't find the net at Old Trafford, he netted twice on his home bow against Leeds and will be eager for more strikes when the Gunners make the trip to face Liverpool on Sunday.
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