Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino suffers Injury Setback - What Happened? How many Days will he be Out?

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Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino has encountered a significant setback days after joining the English club.

The midfielder is currently sidelined after injuring his shoulder during his first training session with the team.

The £31.6 million acquisition from Real Sociedad sustained a suspected fractured shoulder on Thursday. Manager Mikel Arteta confirmed that Merino will be sidelined for several weeks.

Merino had just completed his transfer on Tuesday and was eager to debut against Brighton on Saturday. However, he now faces a delay as further scans are required to determine the full extent of his injury.

Arteta elaborated on the incident, explaining that Merino was injured when Gabi Magalhaes landed on top of him during training.

"It's very unfortunate. Yesterday he had a collision and got a shoulder injury. He's going to be out for a few weeks. It's really bad luck and we were all very excited. He was looking very good, he landed on the floor, Gabi went on top of him and it looks like he's got a small fracture probably. He was in so much pain, so we have to wait and see with the staff to do some more tests to have more conclusive answers," Arteta said.

When will be Mikel Merino back for Arsenal?

The manager added that more tests are needed to provide conclusive answers about Merino's recovery timeline. At the moment, the Gunners will have to wait for the final diagnosis for the midfielder.

"We have to see [how long he will be out]. He was in so much pain. We'll have to do some more tests on that and then we'll have more conclusive answers," Arteta stated.

Although there is no specific timeline of Merino's return, the Spaniard is likely to miss several weeks. If there is a small fracture, the Arsenal player can take around two months to return to action.

In addition to Merino's injury, Arsenal will also miss Gabriel Jesus for their upcoming match against Brighton due to a groin injury sustained last week. Despite this, Arteta provided an optimistic update on Jesus' recovery progress.

"He is progressing really well. He had a little muscle injury and he is doing quite a lot of stuff already, so we expect him to be with us pretty soon," the Arsenal manager added.

Takehiro Tomiyasu is another player who will be absent from the squad for the Brighton match at Emirates Stadium because of a knee injury. Apart from Tomiyasu, Kieran Tierney is also facing an injury and is out for the Gunners.