Gabriel Jesus injury: Progress & potential return date for Arsenal star

Gabriel Jesus had a very mixed first season at Arsenal after he completed his move from Manchester City.

He netted 11 Premier League goals and got seven assists too, meaning he certainly played his part in the Gunners' challenge for the title.

Between December and March, though, he missed 15 games thanks to a knee injury and Mikel Arteta was forced to rely more on Eddie Nketiah. He did an admirable job but Arsenal may have been able to push Manchester City further had Jesus been available more often.

For that reason, it's a major blow to the north London side and Arteta that Jesus has picked up a fresh injury that could force them to dip into the transfer market in a more rushed manner than they would have liked.

Here are all the details we know so far about Jesus' injury and when he could be back in the squad.

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What injury has Gabriel Jesus got?

Worryingly for Jesus, it's his knee that is again causing issues. It was confirmed by manager Arteta before the Monaco friendly that Jesus had undergone minor surgery on his knee and will be out for a period of time.

He said: "He's had some discomfort in his knee that caused him some issues so they had to go in. He's going to be out for a few weeks."

The Spaniard added: "It is a big blow because we had him back to his best, especially with the way he played against Barcelona and he was in good condition but unfortunately we lost him. We had to look at it and we had to make a decision and the best one is to protect the player and get him back as quick as possible. We decided to do it.

"It's something related to the previous injury he had and the surgery. He had some irritation in the knee and we had to get it resolved."

The fact that it is related to the previous injury is very concerning as no player wants to get saddled with a repetitive knee injury. There will be a lot of hope at Arsenal that this surgery is a case of short-term pain for long-term gain.

When will Gabriel Jesus return from injury?

As Arteta said, 'a few weeks' seems to be the timeframe at this stage but lots of players react differently to surgery. What is clear is that he will miss the first handful of games of the Premier League season.

Arsenal have added Kai Havertz to the squad who can play as a main striker, but it is not his best position. Folarin Balogun is back from his loan at Reims but is expected to be sold as he wants regular starts. It was Nketiah who started down the middle against Monaco, scoring in a 1-1 draw.

There is a school of thought that Emile Smith-Rowe can play in a striker's role if needed, something that Arteta discussed last season: "I think he can play in four positions. As a left winger, a left attacking midfielder, a right attacking midfielder and he can play as a nine, very, very well."

Arsenal certainly have some decisions to make about their attack given they have Champions League football to contend with as well this season.

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On this edition of The Chronicles of a Gooner, part of the 90min podcast network, Harry Symeou reacts to Arsenal's bid for David Raya and looks ahead to the Community Shield against Manchester City! If you can't see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!