Mesut Ozil faces lengthy spell on the sidelines

Former Arsenal star Mesut Ozil is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines having been stretchered off with an ankle injury during Fenerbahce's Turkish Super Lig clash with Antalyaspor on Thursday night.

The 32-year-old went over on his ankle and has sustained partial tears to his inner and outer lateral ankle ligaments. As a result, he is likely to be sidelined for approximately four to six weeks and will likely miss key upcoming fixtures against Genclerbirligi and city rivals Besiktas.

Ozil signed for his boyhood club in January after a mutual agreement was reached to terminate his Arsenal contract early. The World Cup winner found himself frozen out in north London, spending the first half of the season unregistered and judging by how his career in Istanbul has started, you could argue the Gunners were justified in their decision.

So far, he's made seven appearances for Fenerbahce but is yet to score a goal or provide his teammates with a single assist. In fairness to the former German international, prior to joining the Turkish outfit, he hadn't played a competitive match in over nine months and so perhaps you can forgive him for his slow start to life in Turkey.

Fenerbahce are third in the league, just two points behind the leaders Galatasaray and at the time of Ozil's signing, it was seen by the club's followers as a major boost to their hopes of becoming champions. However, up until now, for whatever reason, he's failed to have the desired impact and a spell on the sidelines certainly isn't helpful.