Ben White will miss Arsenal’s last two Premier League games and the Champions League final after the club said he suffered a significant medial ligament injury in Sunday’s 1-0 win at West Ham.
The defender picked up the problem in the first half at London Stadium and was later seen leaving in a knee brace. Arsenal said White is being managed by its medical team, with the club focused on getting him ready for pre-season preparations.
White has made 30 appearances in all competitions this season and had started Arsenal’s past five games, but the injury cuts short a late run of involvement for a player who has only started nine league matches. Arsenal now head into their final Premier League fixtures against Burnley and Crystal Palace without him, before facing Paris St-Germain in the Champions League final on 30 May.
The setback also comes at a delicate moment for White on the international stage. He returned to the England squad in March for the first time in more than three years and scored in the draw against Uruguay, putting himself back in the frame before Thomas Tuchel names his squad on 22 May for the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
For Arsenal, the injury removes a regular presence from the closing stretch of a season that has already carried major demands. The club are chasing a first league title in 22 years and will play their first Champions League final in 20 years, leaving little margin for error as the campaign reaches its sharpest point.
White’s absence is a blow because he had only just re-established himself after a long spell away from England duty and had been finishing the season with momentum. Instead, Arsenal will have to manage the last weeks without a defender they had been relying on at exactly the point when the stakes are highest.
