Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby has suffered another setback in his bid to recover from a cruciate knee ligament injury, with Gunners boss Arsene Wenger confirming that he had an operation earlier this week.

Diaby suffered the latest in a long line of knee injuries in March, ruling out him for at least six to eight months.

The 27-year-old returned to Arsenal's London Colney training ground last month after spending six weeks undergoing rehabilitation back in France.

Wenger has now revealed that Diaby was unable to jog without pain in the knee and needed further corrective surgery, ruling him out until at least next March.

He told The Mirror: "He had a little key hole surgery again, on the the knee because his knee blew up every time he did something so it is now six months after the cruciate.

"He could not even jog yet so with new surgery it is a set back for him so competitive football cannot be played before March."

During a seven-year spell in North London the French international has been restricted to 178 first-team appearances, scoring 19 times.