Arsenal Team News: Santi Cazorla Out with Knee Injury

Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla opted to have surgery to repair his injured knee, forcing him to be out for at least three months and probably a maximum of four months. The injury occurred in the second half of his team's matchup against Norwich City, which by the way resulted to a draw.

There also is some bit of controversy as to why the 30-year-old opted to remain on the pitch until the end of the game even though he already was feeling the pain. The club's boss, Arsene Wenger, admitted during the press conference that Cazorla was indeed already injured and just opted to finish the match. Wenger also said in the same press conference that the Spain international may remain in the sidelines up to March of next year, which is an obvious blow to Arsenal's campaign.

After the game, there was no official word if Cazorla would require surgery, but that was expected since team officials might have been waiting for further examination results. It was only after the team's 3-1 win over Sunderland that they revealed Cazorla already underwent surgery.

Wenger was later asked if the club already knew about the ruptured ligament and if Cazorla informed them before undergoing surgery, his answer was rather interesting. "We know now. It has happened already. It's not the season. It is at least three months, maybe four," he said. The club boss also said that Cazorla did the right thing in opting for surgery the soonest possible time instead of asking for more opinions.

The midfielder arrived at the decision of opting for surgery after meeting with a renowned specialist in his native Spain just over a week ago. It was the specialist who said that Cazorla's case was a rupture of the external knee ligament and that the best possible treatment to it is surgery.