The Czech star has not featured since aggravating his problem knee during the FA Cup match against Newcastle United in January.

Croatia striker Eduardo da Silva is also battling his way back to fitness after breaking his leg at Birmingham City in February.

"Tomas has had surgery on his knee and we expect him to be flying by pre-season," Gunners physiotherapist Gary Lewin said. 

"We are setting no timescales for Eduardo because we don't want to put him under pressure, but we are confident he will make a full recovery.

new job 

"We have had some real nasty injuries and I think that is part and parcel of the game. Look back at the years, we have been successful and we have had luck with injuries and not picked up many nasty injuries. Hopefully that will be the case next season."

Lewin will leave for a new job as head of physiotherapy with the England senior team next month and ends a spell that has spanned almost 30 years with the Gunners.

"The opportunity came up not only to work with the England national team on a full-time basis, but to go around other sports, Europe and around the world to seek out the best practices around the world," said the 44-year-old.

"It took a lot of soul-searching and a lot of thought, but in the end, from a professional point of view, it was an opportunity I couldn't turn down."