Arsenal has suffered a major setback with news that defender Gabriel will miss the rest of the season. The Brazilian center-back injured his hamstring early in their 2-1 win against Fulham on Tuesday and had to be taken off right away.
The club announced on Thursday that Gabriel needs surgery to fix the hamstring. He’ll start his recovery and rehab soon, with the goal of getting him back in shape for the beginning of next season.
This is a tough blow for Arsenal, who are trying to catch Liverpool in the Premier League title race. They’re currently 12 points behind with only eight games left. They also have a big Champions League quarter-final match against Real Madrid coming up next week.
Gabriel has been a key player for Arsenal, forming a strong partnership with fellow center-back William Saliba. Together, they’ve helped Arsenal have the best defensive record in the Premier League this season, allowing only 25 goals in 30 games. Gabriel, Saliba, and goalkeeper David Raya have played more minutes than anyone else on the team this season.
Gabriel has also been a threat on attacking set-pieces, scoring five goals in all competitions.
Unfortunately, Gabriel is the third Arsenal player to suffer a serious hamstring injury this season. Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka also had similar injuries, with Saka needing surgery and being out for three months.
Arsenal’s defense is already stretched thin. They’re currently missing Riccardo Calafiori, Ben White, and Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Jurrien Timber also picked up a knee injury in the Fulham game.
“You can imagine, we’ve lost four players in the defensive line in one week… We still have another four that are so willing that they will do their job,” manager Mikel Arteta said after the Fulham match.
Earlier this year, Arsenal also lost strikers Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus to season-ending injuries.
