Gabriel Jesus undergoes knee surgery after World Cup withdrawal as Arsenal suffer huge injury blow

Gabriel Jesus is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines, with it confirmed that the Arsenal striker has undergone knee surgery after returning from the World Cup.

The Gunners star made his first start of the tournament for Brazil in their final group-stage match against Cameroon, coming off with just over an hour played. After being assessed by medical staff with the national team, it was confirmed that he had been ruled out of the rest of the World Cup with a knee injury.

Jesus has since returned to the UK to see a specialist and ascertain the severity of the problem, and the club have now confirmed that the forward has had surgery.

A statement said: “Gabriel Jesus has successfully undergone surgery to his right knee after suffering an injury during the Brazil v Cameroon World Cup group stage match on Friday.

“Gabby will now begin his rehabilitation programme. Everyone at the club is supporting Gabby and will be working hard to get him back on the pitch as soon as possible.”

There are fears that Jesus could be out for three months, though sources at the club insist it is too soon for a timescale to be put on the Brazilian’s recovery.

The forward was suffering with pain in his knee before he was withdrawn against Cameroon, but Brazil boss Tite has hit back at suggestions that he called up Jesus despite knowing the 25-year-old had been battling the issue for a number of weeks.

“These are evil lies, from those who want to do bad things to others,” Tite said. “Not at any time here in the national team did we pay the price for victory with the health of an athlete.

“So this liar who is out there…the haters, that’s what they call them, that’s what they call them, right? They keep spreading it around, so they give me the opportunity to talk. Stop spreading fake news and do something else.

“Arsenal has a great medical department. We have a great medical department. We have a personal responsibility. We have personal ethics. It would never happen like this.”

Having joined from Manchester City in the summer, Jesus made a flying start to life in north London and played a crucial role in the Gunners’ superb start to the season. Mikel Arteta’s side sit five points clear at the top of the Premier League, their only defeat in the league coming against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

His form, in front of goal at least, cooled off in the weeks leading up to the break for the World Cup, with Jesus not scoring in his last 11 matches for Arsenal in all competitions.