Arsenal loses Lucas Perez for up to eight weeks

Arsenal's Lucas Perez vies for the ball with Southampton's Virgil van Dijk. (Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP)

LONDON — Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says forward Lucas Perez is out for up to eight weeks with ankle ligament damage.

Perez was hurt in the 2-0 win over Reading in the League Cup on Tuesday.

The Spanish forward has been on the fringes of the team since joining from Deportivo La Coruna in August for a reported fee of 17 million pounds (then $22.3 million).

Wenger says Perez is out for between six-to-eight weeks, adding "he worked very hard to get there and now he’s close (to getting in the team), he’s absolutely gutted."

Arsenal visits Sunderland on Saturday.

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