Arsenal defender Ben White has been ruled out for “months” after having knee surgery, manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed.

The Gunners boss says White, 27, has been carrying a number of knocks and a decision was made over the international break for him to have an operation.

“It has been different kinds of struggles. It has never been the same thing, but we had to make a decision. He has not improved over the last few weeks, unfortunately,” said Arteta, whose side host Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

“We know that Ben is going to push every boundary, but it got to the point where we have to protect the player and we decided to do the surgery. “He agreed with that and it is going to keep him out for a few months.”

Asked for a specific time frame, Arteta added: “We have to see how he reacts post-surgery. I don’t expect it to be half a year, but I cannot tell you exactly.”

Arsenal should have Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka available after the pair recovered from knocks suffered during the the draw at Chelsea, which led to their withdrawal from the England squad.

Defender Riccardo Calafiori is also in contention for Saturday’s game after a month out with a knee problem, but Takehiro Tomiyasu is still sidelined.