LONDON, August 18- Arsenal's France international midfielder Samir Nasri will be out of action for a month following an operation on his knee, the club announced on Wednesday.
"Arsenal midfielder Samir Nasri will today undergo minor surgery on his knee following a meniscal injury sustained during the match against Liverpool on Sunday," read a statement on the club website.
"Nasri, who has been in impressive form, will be out of action for a month."
The 23-year-old former Marseille player felt pain in his knee following Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at Liverpool on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
Nasri joins fellow injured midfielders Alexandre Song, Aaron Ramsey and Denilson on the sidelines, while talismanic captain Cesc Fabregas is yet to reach full fitness following his exertions at the World Cup.
The news is also a blow to new France coach Laurent Blanc, who was likely to use Nasri as his chief playmaker in the Euro 2012 qualifying matches against Belarus and Bosnia-Herzegovina in early September.
Blanc had suggested that Nasri, who did not play at the World Cup for France, was in line to deputise for the suspended Yoann Gourcuff.
He impressed for France in the first game of Blanc’s tenure, a 2-1 friendly defeat in Norway on August 11.
