Kai Havertz will undergo surgery on his torn hamstring in the coming days, Arsenal have announced, with his rehabilitation program due to carry through into the 2025-26 preseason. Havertz suffered the injury at his side’s warm-weather training camp in Dubai last week but the full extent of the injury only became apparent on returning to London earlier this week.
Assessments in the capital confirmed the worst possible news for Mikel Arteta, who must now navigate the remainder of this season without a senior center forward. Indeed, until any new signings are made, that will remain the case when preparations for the next one begin, Arsenal having offered a downbeat assessment of Havertz’s eventual return.
“Soon after surgery, Kai will begin his recovery and rehabilitation program, which is expected to extend into preseason preparations for next season,” said the club.
With Gabriel Jesus out into next season after knee surgery, the burden will fall on a small group of players to try to keep Arsenal alive in the race for the Premier League and Champions League. For the next few weeks at least that group might number just three: Leandro Trossard, Raheem Sterling and Ethan Nwaneri. Gabriel Martinelli suffered a suspected hamstring injury in the EFL Cup semifinal defeat to Newcastle last week and though Bukayo Saka’s return to light training in Dubai was welcome news he is still expected to be out into next month.
The immediate question for Arteta will be how best to construct a frontline made of two natural left wingers and a 17-year-old who began the season as Martin Odegaard’s understudy in central midfield. Since then, Arteta has spoken of the possibility of Nwaneri developing into a number nine while Trossard frequently filled in in that position during his first half season at Arsenal. Sterling could also lead the line though simply getting satisfactory performances out of him in any position has been a struggle for Arsenal this season.
That aside, academy forward Nathan Butler-Oyedeji, 22, has been a frequent presence on the first-team bench amid the recent crisis of numbers. Arsenal could also explore a free-agent market that includes the likes of Diego Costa, Mariano Diaz and Carlos Vela.
Havertz’s injury shines a harsh light on Arsenal’s transfer business over the last two windows. They entered both intent on adding depth and quality to Arteta’s forward line, yet their only addition was Sterling as a deadline day loan in August. That deal — plus a failed pursuit of a permanent understudy for David Raya that forced them to take Bournemouth’s Neto on loan — meant Arsenal were unable to make further loan additions from Premier League clubs in January, where a £40 million bid for Ollie Watkins was rejected.
Arsenal have been unable to secure primary targets including Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams, Benjamin Sesko of RB Leipzig and Alexander Isak, the striker who put them to the sword in the EFL Cup, and concluded that a signing for the sake of it would not be the right approach in the midseason window. They will now wonder if it might have helped to alleviate some of the load on Havertz, who played the full 90 minutes against Newcastle last week with the tie long since lost.
Across all competitions, the German international has played the second most minutes of any Premier League center froward this season, a statistic that is all the more notable given Havertz had knee problems in October and suffered a bout of illness over the Christmas period. Though Arteta has praised the genetic “powerhouse” who leads his line, he 24-year-old has been visibly struggling for energy in recent weeks, dropping to the floor in exhaustion after 10 men Arsenal beat Wolverhampton Wanderers away.
