Mesut Ozil gives Arsene Wenger a headache as knee injury sidelines midfielder until 2015
MESUT OZIL has joined Arsenal's worryingly long list of injured players after it was announced he is likely to be out for 10 to 12 weeks with a knee injury.
The club advised the German FA to run medical checks when he joined up with the international squad in Frankfurt to prepare for their Euro 2016 qualifiers against Poland on Saturday and the Republic of Ireland next Tuesday.
He was unable to train, went for the scan and will now return to London for further treatment.
Arsenal released a statement that read: "The club will make further assessments and it is too early to say how long Ozil may be out of action."
Arsenal stars Ozil and Per Mertesacker (right) celebrate winning the World Cup this summer [GETTY]
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The news will come as a further blow to Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, who already has midfielders Aaron Ramsey, Mikel Arteta, Abou Diaby and Serge Ganabry on the sidelines and Theo Walcott yet to return from a knee injury. Olivier Giroud, Yaya Sanogo and Mathieu Debuchy are also unavailable.
Meanwhile Arsenal and Chelsea are set for a tug of war over Real Madrid midielder Sami Khedira.
Real are prepared to let the German World Cup star go in the January transfer window for a fee of around £12 million as they continue they rebuilding under Carlo Ancelotti - even though the coach himself is reluctant to let the midfielder leave.
Reports in Spain suggest that Arsenal have already had talks with Khedira and a contract worth £100,000-a-week has been mooted.
Chelsea already have Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic playing in the holding positions at the moment, but the capture of Khedira, a player Mourinho likes and has had watched regularly over the last year, would give him more options in midfield, including the chance to move Fabregas further forward.