Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been forced to plan for the remainder of the 2025/26 season without key players after the extent of the injury became clear ahead of surgery.
Mikel Arteta will be without Mikel Merino for the rest of the season (Image: (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images))
Arsenal will be without Mikel Merino for the rest of the season after his recovery timetable from a broken foot has been revealed. Merino has not played since Arsenal’s 3-2 defeat at Manchester United on January 25 and is scheduled to undergo foot surgery on Monday.
The Gunners initially announced the midfielder would be out for an “extended period” before manager Mikel Arteta confirmed he was expected to be out for four months. “It’s a big blow,” the Arsenal manager said.
“Mikel offers something unique in the team, but unfortunately he will be out for four months with a very rare injury. So we need to support him and make sure he is well connected to the team, because he still adds a lot of value to the players and staff and we can keep him.”
The severity of the injury became clear late in the January transfer window, when Arsenal were exploring the possibility of signing a central midfielder. Sandro Tonali’s representatives have reportedly contacted him, while Bayern Munich’s Leon Goretzka and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who trained at his former club before eventually joining Celtic, are also being considered.
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Arsenal ended the season without signing a new midfielder and will be without Merino for the remainder of the 2025/26 season. Cope reported that the Spain international will undergo foot surgery on Monday and is targeting this summer’s World Cup.
Merino hopes to return to training with Arsenal before the end of the season and prove his fitness before the start of the World Cup on June 11. He was at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday to watch Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Sunderland and will remain with the team.
Regarding the nature of the injury at El Larguero, Merino’s father said: “It’s a stress fracture. It’s more internal. It’s very rare. There’s a bit of uncertainty about the timing because there’s no clear history of this kind of injury. Injuries never come at a good time.”
Mikel Merino is expected to miss the rest of the season (Image: Ben STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)
“Given the problems he has, he accepts the situation. Players have to prepare. It’s tough. Injuries are like that, but you have to look on the bright side. There are injuries that are worse than this one.”
Following Merino’s injury, Arsenal said in a statement: “Mikel will undergo surgery in the coming days, after which he will begin a recovery and rehabilitation program. Mikel is expected to be out for an extended period of time and aims to be back in full training before the end of the season.”
“Everyone is fully committed to supporting Mikel to return to full fitness as soon as possible.”
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