Mikel Arteta provided bad news on the injury front with Fabio Vieira set for a spell out after a groin operation.

Fabio Vieira has been ruled out for the rest of the year after undergoing surgery on a groin injury on Monday, with Mikel Arteta confirming that the Arsenal winger is not expected to return until at least January.

Arsenal is set to play against Lens at the Emirates on Wednesday, and a draw would secure their advancement to the Champions League round of 16. However, Arteta announced Vieira’s absence during his pre-match press conference.

The 23-year-old, acquired from Porto in the summer of 2022, was absent in the thrilling away victory against Brentford on Saturday due to the initial segment of a three-match suspension. However, it’s important to note that this ban is applicable only to domestic matches, and if he’s in good health, he could have been considered for the upcoming Lens match.

“Yeah we’ve got a problem with him. He’s been having some discomfort. We tried to have some conservative treatment with him. It wasn’t improving so we sent him to see a specialist and the advice was to have an operation in his groin,” Arteta said.

“We did that yesterday. We expect him to be out for weeks now. We don’t expect him to do that [return to action before January]. Let’s see how he evolves. The job, it was done yesterday so we’ll have to wait and see. It will take weeks I think.”

However, Arteta provided a more optimistic report regarding defender Ben White. Despite making a 92nd-minute appearance at the Gtech Stadium, the 26-year-old trained individually on Tuesday, raising concerns about a potential relapse of a muscle injury that had briefly kept him out earlier this month.

“He trained the day before the Brentford game and was feeling good. I think he’ll be available for this game,” Arteta said. “That’s very good news for us.”