Danny Welbeck ruled out "for months" with latest setback

Danny Welbeck's start to the season has now been pushed back "for months" as he has undergone surgery to repair a knee injury that's limited him in training all preseason and the first few matches of the English Premier League. From Arsenal's update, posted earlier today:

The striker has been working throughout the summer to recover from the injury sustained at the end of April.

It had been hoped he would avoid surgery but after increasing his training workload, the injury to his cartilage did not respond as well as hoped and the decision was taken last week for him to undergo surgery by a leading specialist in the field.

The injury, suffered in the home draw versus Chelsea, hasn't healed as expected, and there was apparently concern that the cartilage in his knee wouldn't heal on its own without further intervention.

Welbeck's absence now means Arsene Wenger will have to get a little creative with his rotation as he enters Champions League and Capital One Cup competitions. Theoretically, this is probably the triggering event to get Theo Walcott more time at center forward, spelling Olivier Giroud, the preferred starter. Alexis could also see time in that spot, as well.

The silver lining in Welbeck's unfortunate setback is that this probably means we all get more JEFF in our lives.