Andria Bartishvili, the 17-year-old Georgian attacker who is due to join Arsenal next summer, has suffered ankle ligament damage and faces two to three months out.
His current club, Iberia 1999, have confirmed the injury. According to Geo Team, who first reported it, the teenager is looking at a recovery period of two to three months.
It is the first real setback for a player Arsenal have already lined up for July 2027, and it lands in the middle of a season that was meant to be about piling up senior minutes in Georgia before the move.
Iberia 1999 confirm Andria Bartishvili – who is joining Arsenal next year – has suffered ankle ligament damage.
– Simon Collings (@sr_collings) November 4, 2026
First called by @Geo__team – who says wonderkid faces two to three months out.
How long will Bartishvili be out?
The estimate is two to three months. Counting from early November, that takes him into the new year at the very least, and possibly into February before he is playing again.
Ankle ligament damage usually means a structured rehab programme, with the joint needing to be fully stable before a return to competitive action. Bartishvili will do that work in Tbilisi rather than London, because he remains under contract with his Georgian clubs until the summer of 2027.
Where does the injury leave his Arsenal move?
Nothing changes on that front. Arsenal agreed a pre-contract deal for the attacking midfielder or winger earlier this year, and the move takes effect in July 2027, once he turns 18. We covered the deal for the Georgian wonderkid when it first came together.
Bartishvili is currently on loan at Iberia 1999 from Kolkheti 1913. He has already scored and assisted in senior football and has moved quickly through Georgia’s youth international sides, all the way up to the under-21s.
The plan at Arsenal has always been a gradual one. He is expected to start with the academy and the under-21s rather than walk straight into Mikel Arteta’s first-team squad, which fits the push from Arsenal’s new academy director to get young players ready for the step up.
Why the timing hurts
For a 17-year-old, two or three months is a big chunk of a season. This was the year he could keep building match sharpness and a proper senior record before moving to a much more intense league, and a long spell on the sidelines takes some of that away.
Arsenal will be watching from a distance, and the club have made a point of how seriously they now take injury prevention, even asking NASA for help with ACL injuries. The difference here is that his recovery sits with Iberia 1999’s staff, not with Arsenal’s own medical team.
Verdict: a frustrating blow, not a worrying one
Teenagers get hurt, and an ankle problem with a clear two-to-three-month timeline is about as manageable as these things get. The bigger question is how quickly Bartishvili gets back to regular football once he is fit, because those minutes in Georgia are what prepare him for life in north London.
The pre-contract is still in place and Arsenal’s interest in him has not changed. If the rehab goes to plan, he should still have the second half of the season to get going again before he arrives at the Emirates next summer.
