Crocked Vermaelen goes under knife

ARSENAL defender Thomas Vermaelen is set to undergo surgery on his achilles injury, ruling him out for six weeks.

Vermaelen has been sidelined since suffering the problem while on international duty in September.

Arsenal had been hoping he would return this month, but they have now decided to send him under the knife to correct the problem.

The Belgian international is hoping to be back playing in four to six weeks after the surgery.

“I’ll undergo this operation in Sweden,” Vermaelen said.

“According to the specialist who will operate on me, it's a little tendon situated beside the achilles tendon that is provoking the irritation.”

Arsene Wenger has been calling on Laurent Koscielny, Sebastian Squillaci and Johan Djourou to fill in in his absence as he battles back to fitness.

However, the Arsenal manager will now need to splash the cash on a new centre-back in the transfer window with Vermaelen not set for a return in the short term.

Wenger has suggested he will sign a defender and it is thought that Bolton’s Gary Cahill could be on his radar.

However, the Gunners’ bid to sign Cahill looks likely to flounder, with Wenger not willing to pay more than £8 million (€9.4m)for the England centre-half.

Though Arsenal have been tracking the Bolton star, widely regarded as the best young English defender in the Premier League, their valuation falls a long way short of the £20m (€23.7m) his club are hoping to raise from any possible sale.