Arsenal's Cazorla to undergo ankle surgery, expected out 3 months

Arsenal will be without Santi Cazorla for up to three months, as the Spanish midfielder gets set to undergo surgery to correct a problem in his right ankle.

Under the advice of the team's medical staff, Cazorla will travel to Sweden where specialists will operate on his damaged plantaris tendon next week.

The decision comes six weeks after Cazorla injured his ankle during Arsenal's 6-0 victory over Ludogorets Razgrad in the Champions League on Oct. 19.

"The problem has not progressed during a rehabilitation programme," the team said in a statement. "We expect Santi's full recovery to take approximately three months."

His long-term absence is the latest bit of bad news to strike Cazorla, after he was forced to miss a large portion of the 2015-16 campaign because of knee and Achilles injuries.

He only managed to make 11 appearances this term before going down with the injury.

The news is a big blow to the club following Cazorla's encouraging start to the season. But his loss has paved the way for the likes of Mohamed Elneny, Granit Xhaka, and Francis Coquelin to feature in a more prominent role, as the three regularly rotate in the deep-lying midfield position that's normally occupied by Cazorla.