Arsenal have been dealt a major blow to their hopes of finishing the season on a high after it was revealed that influential midfielder Santi Cazorla will not play again this season, having suffered a setback in his recovery from ankle surgery.

Cazorla has not played since the home victory over Ludogorets in October, where he limped off with an Achilles injury, and despite Arsenal's medical team hoping to issue would clear up without requiring surgery, a decision was taken in December to operate that ruled Cazorla out for an additional three months.

Arsene Wenger had hoped to have the Spain international back around April, with Arsenal currently facing the prospect of challenging for the FA Cup only after falling 10 points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea and suffering an almost-insurmountable 5-1 defeat by Bayern Munich in their Champions League last-16 first leg a week ago.

Cazorla’s ankle has proven more troublesome than Arsenal could have imagined, and the 32-year-old has now undergone several procedures which includes a skin graft from his arm. The delay in his recovery means that a return this season is now out of the equation, and he has instead been told to focus on regaining his fitness for next season, meaning he won’t have played a competitive fixture in 10 months by the time the 2017/18 campaign kicks off.

Cazorla was forced off during the 6-0 win over the Bulgarian champions, and his absence has been felt by the Gunners as their Premier League title challenge unravelled along with their Champions League campaign – although Arsenal were able to secure top spot in their group in Cazorla’s absence.