Takehiro Tomiyasu has confirmed he has undergone surgery on a long-standing knee injury.
While the Japan international hasn’t put a timeline on his return, it’s likely he’ll miss the rest of the season.
This is the second time the 26-year-old has required knee surgery since joining Arsenal from Bologna in 2021. He picked up the issue in pre-season and, despite a brief six-minute cameo against Southampton in October, suffered an immediate relapse.
As recently as last month, Mikel Arteta was optimistic about Tomiyasu featuring again this season, but something has clearly gone wrong, leading the club and player to opt for surgery.
In a two-part message on Instagram, Tomiyasu first wrote in Japanese: “I’m late in reporting this, but I had surgery on my right knee a few days ago and have already started rehabilitation in order to return!
“I’m sorry that I haven’t been able to tell all my fans and supporters about my condition over the past six months.
“There’s a lot I want to say, but right now, I just want to remember that there are people who are waiting for me, and that I want to return to the pitch and give back to them on the pitch. With these things in mind, I will work towards my return!! See you again at the stadium!”
He added in English: “I’ve had a surgery on my knee few days ago and I’ve already started my rehab to do what I love the most again. It has been the toughest period in my career for sure and it carries on a bit more but I won’t give up. Thank you for your support and see you again.”
It’s another devastating injury setback for Tomiyasu, who becomes the fourth Arsenal player in recent weeks – after Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, and Reiss Nelson (currently on loan at Fulham) – to undergo surgery.
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I’m starting to get to Diaby / Eduardo levels of sadness for poor Tomi.
Yes, it’s frustrating for us. But we have good enough cover. It must be so awful to watch your career that you worked so hard for, slipping through your fingers.
Get well soon my lad! We will all be with you!
❤️🤍❤️🤍❤️
It’s very strange how many injury prone players we’ve had over the past 20 years. I can’t pinpoint a correlation that would be present the entirety of that time frame.
I would say poor refereeing was part of it early days – the old arsenal don’t like being roughed up and refs allowing far too many seriously dodgy tackles go unpunished, thus encouraging bad behaviour!! More recently I think it is being pushed to the limit too frequently without the players having enough recovery time – in other words, lack of squad depth (in certain areas) to allow for effective rotation
I think Wenger was a romantic with a love for flawed, precocious artists. Our injured core would never have made it to a second season under Arteta, which is why we’re closer to winning the league now than at any time since 2004, but I’ll always be grateful to Arsène for having the loyalty and patience to let Ramsey have THAT season, Rosicky and Cazorla show their magic and that stupid little boy score 30 goals and then break my 12 year old heart.
My roomate’s mom-in-regulation makes usd eighty one each hour at the laptop . She has been fired for eight months but remaining month her paycheck turned into usd 17367 just operating
on the pc for a few hours….. Money63.solar
In my entirely uneducated opinion, I think refereeing that allows Arsenal players to be kicked (and stamped on, and choked, and molested . . . ) with impunity does significantly increase injury risks. For example, I’d expect that a bruised muscle or strained ligaments could lead to compensation injuries.
And of course, having a player out injured or suspended itself limits squad depth and rotational options, leading to overuse of the players that are available.
As much as I’m sure alot of us are frustrated with a player of such quality not being a factor at all for alot of his time at the club, I’m sure he’s even more frustrated. It’s at the point where im more hopeful that he just can have a football career, regardless whether its with us or not. Must be a drain on his mental health. He had that right back shirt until he didn’t. Poor bloke.
Tomiyasu always comes across as a likeable and committed player, such a shame injuries have impacted on his career with us as he is a top quality player when fit and available – here is hoping the surgery sorts the issue and he kicks on with us next season 👍
I hope he gets well soon and recovers completely. It’s not even about football. Sometimes we forget footballers are humans. They have to struggle with years of physical pains following their careers. Imagine the impact on the quality of their life in the future. You can pay someone millions of pounds but once you have had an injury or dislocation requiring surgery, that part of the body is never the same and no amount of money can be enough to make up for it.
With Tomi I don’t feel any frustration at his absence. We’re currently blessed with Timber, White, MLS and Calafiori in the full back positions (not even counting deeper back up like Zinny, Tierney and Kiwior)- we’ll be fine. My overall feeling is just sadness over the player we’ve lost out on here. Elite one on one defender, and a complete swiss army knife of a player who can do just about any job across the entire backline to a very high standard. Whether that’s being a Timber style bouncer of a full back- locking down the opposition’s most threatening winger,… Read more »
It’s just a joke now. Pay up his contract and be done
Try empathy. It’s good for the soul.
I didn’t realise he’s still only 26, come back stronger & better Tomi
5th – Saka
I thought he was dead! So good to see him. I absolutely love Tomiyasu!
What happened to Reiss???
Hamstring.
Tomi is the luke shaw of man utd
I think that Luke Shaw is the Luke Shaw of Man Utd……
Gutted for him. Another one of those beacons of hope during tougher times, like KT and ESR. I wish him a speedy a recovery and a quick return to football.
From a team perspective, his contract runs out in 2026 and he’s on 5M/year. Nobody will buy him this summer so he’ll probably be going free next year. I’d say give him what support we can, but pay out the remaining 5M and bring in somebody who’s going to be much more available.
I don’t get the pay him out part. What would that benefit the club? If we pay him the 5m why not not just let him hang around, play a couple of cup games and see how he comes back from injury?
I see what you’re saying. No offence to the guy, I think he’s great when he plays, but squad size is limited by the laws of the game. If a player is almost constantly unavailable, one could argue it makes sense to pay them out and get someone else in who is less prone to injury to make better use of the squad slot. If they who know believe he can make a meaningful contribution next season, then by all means keep him and play him. A fit Tomi with White are excellent RB options. But to keep him for… Read more »
We will wait patiently for your return, Tominator. I hope you continue to represent us – we want you to and will be praying for speedy recovery. Get well soon and stay strong, warrior.
He’ll be back
Wishing him a smooth recovery and hopefully he can come back stronger and play for us again. Hopefully he understands too, how much he’s loved at the club and ignores the sentiments of countless 12 year olds on the internet who might mostly be fans of rival clubs
I always felt that Ben and Tomi are lynchpin squad members.
With them fit, things click….. it’s like a higher confidence level filters into the whole club structure.
We are already a fine club that copes with stuff unbelievably well given our injuries and being on the receiving end of warped refereeing but Tomi and Ben glue the thing for me.
❤️much love Tomi …… we will see you next season.
Our Samurai will be back next season to push this team to the next level when hopefully we will be challenging on multiple fronts. White, Gabriel, Timber, MLS, Cala, Zinchenko and Tomi. Have we ever had such a such strong defense depth wise? I cant think of any previous teams blessed like this.
How did i miss out Saliba……….
And Kiwior and Tierney
Terrible but imagine this at league 2 level. At least he’s on a circa £25m contract. Claiming this is ‘no comfort’ seems out of touch to me.
You really feel for him with so many injuries, how much longer is his contract for? Just hope it’s not another year next year of wasted salary.
Errr, fellas, off topic, but it’s really kind of on. Let’s nail those hammers!