Arsenal injury news: Santi Cazorla facing 3 months out after suffering knee ligament injury

Arsenal have been dealt a major blow on the injury front with Santi Cazorla set to be sidelined for at least three months with a knee ligament injury. The Spaniard suffered the injury during the Gunners' 1-1 draw against Norwich City on Sunday (29 November).

According to the Guardian, the north London club are still assessing the injury but are fearful that they will be without the former Malaga midfielder until at least March. This will come as a big blow to Arsene Wenger, who has seen a number of his key players succumb to injuries in recent weeks.

Apart from the Spaniard, the Gunners also lost Alexis Sanchez and Laurent Koscielny to injury, but the duo's injuries are not as bad as first feared with the latter, according to the London Evening Standard, set to return to training within 48 hours. Sanchez is expected to return in three weeks with the club hoping that the Chilean can be ready in time to face Manchester City on 21 December.

Francis Coquelin has also been sidelined for a similar time period with a knee ligament injury that he sustained during Arsenal's loss to West Bromwich Albion the previous weekend. The 12-time FA Cup champions are left light in the midfield department as they are also without Jack Wilshere, Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky, who are all expected to return only in the New Year.

The loss of Cazorla is a massive blow for the Gunners as he has been a key component in Wenger's team and is the midfield fulcrum that keeps their quick passing game ticking. He is the first player to complete 1,000 passes this season, and the report claims that he has also played more minutes than any midfielder in the country apart from Daley Blind, who has mainly featured as a defender this campaign.

Aaron Ramsey will be the obvious choice to join Mathieu Flamini in the deep-lying role behind Mesut Ozil in what is a busy fixture period for the Gunners. The Welshman, who has been craving for a regular role in midfield, will have his opportunity to now prove to the manager about getting a permanent role in his preferred position.