Arsene Wenger says Santi Cazorla unlikely to play again this season as he admits frustration over star's injury woesArsene Wenger today confirmed that Santi Cazorla is unlikely to play again this season.Mirror Sport revealed last week that Spain midfielder Cazorla is recovering after undergoing a skin graft operation to take skin from his arm to heal the wound near his ankle.
Cazorla’s rehabilitation is already being planned for him to be fit for next season and Wenger admitted that he will be “short” to play again this campaign.
Wenger admitted it is a huge blow because Cazorla is such a key player and they have missed him since he first suffered the injury at the end of October.
Arsenal boss Wenger said: “It’s a special problem on his calf. At the moment, the only thing I can say because I have not seen him in training, not even in fitness work, is that he’ll be short.
“We are now at the beginning of March, so it is very difficult to predict. When you think that when a player starts to train after such a long time out, you have at least six weeks to be competitive for a place in the team.
“If you add six weeks today, we are already at mid-April so that means it will be short for him now.
“It is very frustrating for us because at the start of the season, he was maybe the star of the team.
"Overall it is a big loss for us but I am especially sad for him, for a guy who loves football, when football is so natural, he suffers a lot not to be on the pitch.”
The club have taken up their option to extend Cazorla's contract at the Emirates, with his deal now running until 2018.
The playmaker has made 180 appearances since arriving from Malaga in 2012, scoring 29 goals.
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