Mesut Ozil injury: Arsenal say it is 'too early' to say how long midfielder will be out

The German FA have said he will miss 10 to 12 weeks

Arsenal have said it is "too early" to judge how long Mesut Ozil will be out injured - just hours after the German FA (DFB) claimed he could be absent until 2015.

The midfielder has added to Arsenal's worryingly long injury-list after the DFB announced that he had suffered a rupture to his knee joint.

The midfielder joined up with the national team prior to their Euro 2016 qualifiers against Poland on Saturday and the Republic of Ireland next Tuesday, but has been unable to train with the World Cup winners.

Ozil played a full 90 minutes in Arsenal's defeat to Chelsea on Sunday and there were no public comments on any possible injury. However, Arsenal have now confirmed it was during the game at Stamford Bridge that Ozil picked up the problem.

A statement on the club's website said: "Arsenal can confirm that midfielder Mesut Ozil is returning to London from international duty with Germany after picking up a knee injury during Sunday’s game at Chelsea.

"Ozil complained of a sore left knee after the game and the club advised the German FA to run medical checks when he joined up with his international squad."

Ozil was sent for an MRI scan by the the DFB after which they announced he could be out for as long as three months.

A statement on the DFB website read: "The MRI examination today at National Dr. Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt in Munich revealed a partial rupture of the outer band of the left knee joint.

"The treatment is conservative, with six weeks of immobilisation of the knee joint. Mesut Ozil is likely to be (out for) 10 to 12 weeks."

However, Arsenal have said it is too early to estimate when he will return.

"The club will make further assessments and it is too early to say how long Ozil may be out of action," they said in their statement.

The news is a major headache for Gunners boss Arsene Wenger, who is facing something of a midfield crisis with Aaron Ramsey, Serge Gnabry and Mikel Arteta already on the sidelines. Theo Walcott also remains unavailable whilst in other departments, Olivier Giroud, Yaya Sanogo and Mathieu Debuchy are unavailable.