Gedion Zelalem Reportedly out for 9 Months with Ruptured ACL Injury

Arsenal youngster Gedion Zelalem will reportedly be sidelined for up to nine months after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee while with the United States under-20 national team. 

Charles Watts of Football.London reported the news after Zelalem suffered the injury during his side's Under-20 World Cup clash against Ecuador on Monday in South Korea.

The 20-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan with Dutch outfit VVV Venlo, whom he helped win the Eerste Divisie title with, having spent the previous campaign on a temporary deal at Rangers.

Zelalem was beginning to make big strides in his senior career after a couple of years developing in Arsenal's academy, which he joined in 2013 following youth stints in the country of his birth, Germany, and the United States.

It's apparent this injury could well have scuppered any chance the midfielder had of advancing another step in his professional life, per comments under-20 manager Tab Ramos gave to ESPN's Jeff Carlisle:

Zelalem is comfortable in a number of central-midfield roles and has tended to find a happy medium between defensive and attacking duties as a playmaker, dictating the speed of play floating between all three thirds of the pitch.

However, Major League Soccer writer Matthew Doyle spotted the Arsenal starlet didn't appear to have found his rhythm in the little opportunities he got to impress at the U-20 World Cup:

Such a grave setback at this point in his career could threaten to derail the progress of a promising Gunners recruit, one who made two senior appearances for Arsenal in the EFL Cup last season and has shown first-team potential.

The hope will be Zelalem is able to return to the fold—although he faces a race for that to come in 2017.