The Arsenal games Gabriel Jesus could miss amid World Cup injury blow

Arsenal have been dealt an injury blow as World Cup action continues in Qatar.

Reports in Brazil have claimed Gunners striker Gabriel Jesus has been ruled out for the rest of the tournament after picking up a knee injury during Friday night’s defeat to Cameroon. Brazil had already all-but secured top spot in their group, allowing Tite to rotate and to give key players a rest ahead of what will - hopefully for Brazil - be a deep run into the tournament.

Having appeared off the bench previously, Arsenal star Jesus was handed a start, but he was forced off in the 64th minute of the 1-0 defeat. On the back of his exit, concerning reports have emerged in Brazil, from Globo, claiming early tests suggest Jesus is out for a month with a knee injury, ending his World Cup participation.

Beyond that hearbreaking fact, it also seems Jesus could miss a chunk of Arsenal’s festive action, if the report proves accurate. It’s claimed a month of action will be missed, keeping Jesus out until this time in January.

Arsenal don’t return to comeptitive action until December 26, but after that, Mikel Arteta’s men face a congested schedule, as is tradition at this time of year. If Jesus is out for a month, that means he will miss the Boxing Day clash with West Ham, the New Year’s Eve clash with Brighton away from home, and potentially also the crunch clash with in-form Newcastle United on January 3.

After that point, Arsenal face Oxford United on January 9 and don’t return to action until the North London Derby with Tottenham on January 15. With that in mind, if Jesus is close to returning against Newcastle, it would surely benefit Arsenal to play it safe by giving Jesus extra time. He could even use the Oxford clash to regain match fitness, be it off the bench or otherwise, ahead of returning properly for the big derby clash.