ARSENAL defender Kieran Gibbs has been ruled out for the rest of the season following news that he is to undergo surgery on his foot injury.

ARSENAL defender Kieran Gibbs has been ruled out for the rest of the season following news that he is to undergo surgery on his foot injury.

The England Under-21 international had only just established himself in the first team squad at the Emirates Stadium when he suffered a depressed open fracture to his first metatarsal on his left foot in Champions League match against Standard Liege November.

The left back had been suggested as a potential member of Fabio Capello's World Cup squad this summer before his injury.

Gibbs has been told he will now have a bone graft to help ensure a full recovery.

The 20-year-old told the Official Arsenal Magazine: "Needless to say I'm gutted - there's just no other word. The other option to surgery would have been to wait and let the bone grow in my foot, but we didn't want to do that because I'd have to wait another six weeks just to have another scan.

"I'd run the risk of it carrying on into next season, and we don't want to do that.'