Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed that striker Danny Welbeck will not feature again in 2015.
The Englishman underwent knee surgery at the end of last month to fix an injury sustained in April.
The Gunners will however welcome back defender Per Mertesacker for the weekend game against Stoke City who will team-up with Laurent Koscielny in the heart of the Arsenal defence.
"Yes, we got very bad news [on Danny Welbeck] because in my mind he was almost ready to play again," Wenger told reporters on Thursday morning.
"He was very close but he could not tolerate the final step up in his rehab. We always wanted to try conservative rehab first under the guidance of specialists and he did get very close. We had to consult and in the end they decided to go in and see what's wrong. He will be out certainly until Christmas.
"It's [Tomas Rosicky's situation is] similar [to Welbeck], it's a similar surgery.
"He [Jack Wilshere] is progressing slowly. Unfortunately he will not be available for Saturday. Per [Mertesacker] was out for 18 days but he's back now in training.
"Laurent [Koscielny] is alright, he had a normal training session yesterday [and] all the players who have been away on international duty have come back in good shape. We should have the same squad available."
