London, Jan 14 : Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus is suspected to have ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and is now expected to face a long spell on the sidelines.

According to a report by The Athletic, Jesus is set for a long spell out with a suspected ACL rupture. Further specialist reviews on the striker are scheduled to take place on Tuesday to establish the full extent of the injury.

Jesus was stretchered off during Arsenal's loss against Manchester United in the third round of the FA Cup further adding to the Gunners' ongoing injury crisis.

The Brazilian striker was rotated in and out of the Arsenal squad since his previous knee surgery in 2022. Jesus looked to have returned to form in recent games having scored six goals in a span of four games.

Arteta stated the injury of Jesus as a "big worry" for the club. 'Big worry, that's my feeling, he is in a lot of pain, touching his knee. It's not looking good. I think it's the other one (knee, compared to his injury in 2022),' Arteta had said after the game.

The Gunners are already missing the services of Bukayo Saka, who was in top form before his injury, as the English forward is not expected to return to the first team before March.

Arsenal's season seems to have gone off the rails with the Gunners having not won their last three outings, fallen eight points behind Liverpool in the league table, trailing Newcastle United 0-2 after the first leg of the Carabao Cup and having been knocked out of the FA Cup.

It will be interesting to see if they enter the January transfer market in hopes of bringing the much-needed attacking reinforcements.

The report further stated that whilst the Gunners are scouring the market in hopes of bringing a striker or wide forward in, they have to manoeuvre with the fine lines of the financial regulations.

'First of all, someone who can impact the team. Bringing in bodies doesn't help at all, it is just someone who can immediately impact on performance and bring something we don't have. In this market, it is very difficult to achieve,' Arteta had said in a recent press conference.

/IANS