Arsenal midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been ruled out for up to six weeks with a broken foot.
Mkhitaryan was withdraw at half-time of Arsenal's 2-0 home loss to Tottenham in the EFL Cup quarter-finals and subsequently missed Saturday's 3-1 win over Burnley.
Ahead of the trip to Brighton Boxing Day, Arsenal have confirmed Mkhitaryan has suffered a broken foot and will be sidelined until February.
Arsenal travel to Anfield to face Premier League pace-setters Liverpool on December 29 before a busy January sees them face Fulham, Blackpool in the FA Cup, West Ham, Chelsea and Cardiff.
Mkhitaryan has been a regular under Unai Emery this season, making 20 appearances across all competitions before suffering a fractured metatarsal.
The Armenian is joined on the sidelines by long-term absentees Danny Welbeck and Rob Holding.
Hector Bellerin is out for another two weeks and Dino Mavropanos and Emile Smith Rowe will return to training before the end of the month.
Skhodran Mustafi could feature against Liverpool while Nacho Monreal will be assesed ahead of facing Brighton.
MORE ABOUT