Arsenal youngster Andria Bartishvili is set to see his season end early after picking up an ankle injury. That will rule him out for 2-3 month.

Bartishvili is set to join Arsenal on a permanent basis next year one he turns 18. Until then, he is continuing his development with Georgian team Iberia Tbilisi.

He’s been a regular for them this season, with 21 appearances in all competitions and 1097 minutes under his belt to date.

But he’s already missed large parts of the season, missing nine games between August and October completely. He returned on the 19^th of last month, but has only managed 22 minutes since then in the league.

Untimely injury

Geo Team report that his season is now over after he picked up an ankle injury. Their information is that Arsenal’s new gem will be set for a 2-3 month absence with the problem.

The 17-year-old will therefore see his season in the Georgian league and UEFA Conference League come to a premature end.

That will be a major disappointment for Arsenal, who will have been hoping to see him get regular minutes in both this season before heading to the Emirates.

Arsenal plans

For those that don’t know, Arsenal sealed the highly rated Georgian youngster earlier this year. Sport Witness reported at the end of August that he was flying to Arsenal to seal his move.

The Gunners had seemingly beat competition from Liverpool for the youngster. Reports earlier this year indicated that both sides were battling for Bartishvili’s signature.

The youngster is spending the season on loan at Iberia 1999 from Kolkheti Poti. That loan is set to end in December. As he doesn’t turn 18 until March, he can’t officially join Arsenal until that point anyway.

What their plans for him now will be, remain to be seen. It would not be surprising to see the youngster heading to England so Arsenal can do their own tests on him and make their own medical determinations before deciding what happens next.