"?Arsenal defender Gabriel Paulista has been ruled out of action for two months with an ankle ligament injury,"? according to The Mirror.
The Brazilian is thought to have escaped major damage to his ankle, however and on Tuesday the 25-year-old seemed optimistic regarding his recent setback.
"Today I feel much better. It is not a big problem,"? "?he told fans via his Instagram page.
Gabriel suffered the injury during Arsenal's 3-2 pre-season win over Manchester City, and the news leaves Arsene Wenger staring at a defensive crisis.
Laurent Koscielny is only just returning to training following his Euro 2016 involvement with France, and Per Mertersacker is also facing a spell on the sidelines after undergoing knee surgery in pre-season.
Arsenal have been one of the less busy Premier League clubs this transfer window, and so far they have signed Granit Xhaka, Takuma Asano and Rob Holding. Arsene Wenger will now surely make signing a senior centre-back his first priority for the next few weeks, with new signing Holding and fellow youngster Calum Chambers his only recognised options at centre-back.
Arsenal have been rumoured to be interested in former Manchester United centre-back Jonny Evans, while they have also been linked with Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi. However, should the Gunners sign the German international, he would be facing a race to be fit for their Premier League opener against Liverpool.
Mustafi, 24, hasn't been able to train properly this week, suffering from a thigh injury which first occurred at the Euros this summer. He missed Valencia's pre-season match against the Nigerian League All-Star team on Tuesday night.
"It's an injury that dragged from the Euros. A sore adductor,"? Valencia manager Pako Ayestaran said.
While Holding and Chambers are Arsenal's only recognised centre-backs, Nacho Monreal, Mathieu Debuchy or Francis Coquelin could act as emergency centre-backs should Arsenal suffer more hard luck on the injury front.