Arsenal defender Ben White is expected to miss the rest of the season with a right knee ligament injury.
The full extent of the issue is yet to be established but the initial prognosis is that White has suffered suspected medial collateral ligament damage. He is anticipated to miss Arsenal’s Premier League run-in and the Champions League final on May 31 and it is unlikely he will be fit to play a part at the World Cup for England.
White, 28, was forced off in the first half of Arsenal’s Premier League victory over West Ham United on May 10. Mikel Arteta said after the match that “he doesn’t look good at all”.
White has made 30 appearances in all competitions this season but has started just nine times in the league. Four of those have come in Arsenal’s last five Premier League matches, with the former Brighton & Hove Albion man coming into the team at right-back in the absence of the injured Jurrien Timber.
The last 18 months of White’s career have been disrupted by injury. He missed three months of the 2024-25 campaign following knee surgery, before a series of short-term absences this term.
Arsenal have two top-flight matches remaining, at home against Burnley on May 18 and before visiting Crystal Palace on May 24, as the club bids to end its 22-year wait for a Premier League title. They then face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final on May 30.
White returned to the England squad in March, his first call-up since he left the 2022 Qatar World Cup for personal reasons. He featured in friendlies against Uruguay and Japan during that month’s international window.
England begin their 2026 World Cup campaign against Costa Rica on June 10.
White absence a blow for Arteta
White will be gutted to miss out on the thrilling climax to Arsenal’s campaign — and his absence is a tremendous blow to Mikel Arteta. White’s intelligent play from full-back has helped Bukayo Saka rediscover some good form. The full-back performed superbly in Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid.
With Timber also sidelined with a groin problem, it leaves Arsenal without their two first-choice right-backs. Arteta temporarily switched Rice to fill that position against West Ham, before rethinking and introducing Cristhian Mosquera. The 21-year-old Spaniard is nominally a centre-back, but has filled in impressively as a full-back on several occasions this season.
A Champions League final against PSG, however, would be a significant test of Mosquera’s credentials, with Kvicha Kvaratskhelia likely to feature as the French side’s left winger. Arsenal fans will be hoping that Timber can recover in time to play some part in Budapest — although Arteta has not yet provided a clear timeline for his return.
