Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe has been ruled out of Friday night's FA Cup fourth round showdown with Manchester City due to a thigh injury.
Smith Rowe, 22, has spent the last four months on the sidelines after undergoing surgery for a groin issue that had been bothering him for years.
The Gunners academy graduate made his first-team return in Arsenal's win over Oxford United in the last round of the FA Cup earlier this month. However, the youngster's latest setback, which occurred in training, means he will play no part for Mikel Arteta's side against the Premier League champions at the Etihad Stadium.
While Smith Rowe will be forced to sit out Friday night's game, it is not believed that his latest issue will mean he is sidelined for another significant period of the season.
That will come as a boost to Arteta, who shelled out an initial £21m to snap up Leandro Trossard earlier this month to bolster his attacking options for the second half of the season.
Arsenal still hold a five-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the Premier League and also have a game in hand on the champions, who are yet to face Arteta's side this season.
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But even with Trossard now in the fold, Arteta will be hoping to have Smith Rowe back in contention for the first-team too. Smith Rowe's latest setback comes just weeks after he revealed that the groin issue he underwent surgery for had been troubling him since he was a teenager.
The Hale End graduate, who suffered a recurrence of the groin injury back in September, detailed how he was finally pain free and had designs on playing a significant role in Arsenal's title challenge between now and the end of the season.
"A lot of people might not know, but I have had this injury since I was 18, 19. It has been quite hard to deal with it over the years. But I am really happy that it is just finally over. I had a successful surgery and I am feeling really good," Smith Rowe said earlier this month.
"It was the exact same pain from back then, which has been quite hard to manage. Obviously a lot of people might not know about that from over the years. But I am just happy to come out the other side fully fit… I am just going to kick on from here."
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