Arsenal star Gabriel Jesus has posed with crutches after undergoing surgery following his severe World Cup injury in Qatar.
The former Manchester City forward posed with crutches as fears mounted following the World Cup injury.
Gabriel Jesus underwent knee surgery, which threatens to rule the star out of action for an extended period.
He suffered a knee injury, limping off Brazil’s last World Cup group game against Cameroon.
It was confirmed that the Arsenal star will be ruled out of the tournament following the injury, ending his hopes of making it into the knockout stage of the tournament.
Before suffering a 1-0 defeat to the Cameroonians in the last group game, Brazil had already qualified for the round of 16 following two opening wins over Serbia and Switzerland.
Gabriel Jesus was an integral part of the high-flying Arsenal side, and the injury is a major blow to the London-based club and Mikel Arteta. The Premier League leaders Arsenal had been hopeful the injury may only rule Jesus out of action for a month.
However, the club later confirmed Jesus had undergone surgery on his right knee. Still, his potential return date was undisclosed, with speculations that the attacking midfielder may miss a great number of games this season.
The London club said Jesus will begin a rehabilitation program.
Jesus has posted an update on his Instagram page following the surgery, with the 25-year-old posing with crutches.
‘Time to go home,’ Jesus wrote, with the forward adding that he would ‘be back stronger’.
Reports in Brazil had suggested Jesus could face up to three months on the sidelines, ruling him out of action until March.
The timeframe would likely see Jesus miss Arsenal’s next 10 Premier League games, which would include both clashes with title rivals Manchester City and a North London derby against Tottenham.
Jesus has started each of Arsenal’s 14 Premier League matches this season since joining the Gunners from Manchester City in the summer for £45 million.
Gabriel Jesus had failed to score in his last six league games, but his overall play has helped Arsenal maintain their push for a first league title since 2004.
The injury setback has opened the possibility of Arsenal pursuing a forward in the January transfer window, with Eddie Nketiah the sole alternative to Jesus after Alexandre Lacazette’s departure in the summer.
Jesus’ selection for Tite’s squad for the 2022 World Cup was met by some adverse reaction by supporters in Brazil, with Flamengo supporters in particular questioning his place in the squad over Gabriel Barbosa.
This led to some speculation that Jesus, in fact, had not been fit when selected for the World Cup.
Tite sought to banish this speculation, labelling it ‘evil lies’.
Tite added that he does not like hearing lies out there, saying speculators should not “play for victory at the risk of a player’s peril.”
Brazil eliminated South Korea from the roud of 16 to set up a quarterfinal clash against 2018 finalists, Croatia.
They are among the top favourites to win the competition.
