Wait: Gabriel has been sidelined for six weeks
Arsenal Football Newsletter
The Gunners could be boosted by the return of Kai Havertz in their first match after Christmas. But Gabriel is still not back in training and Mikel Arteta has admitted Arsenal do not know when they will have the Brazilian defender available again.
Havertz has not played since suffering a knee injury at Manchester United on the opening weekend of the season.
But the German is back in training and could make his comeback against Brighton on Saturday, when Arsenal resume their Premier League title bid.
Kai Havertz is back in training for Arsenal
Speaking ahead of the Brighton game, Arteta said Havertz was only “a matter of days rather than weeks” away from a return to action.
Quite close,” said the Arsenal boss. “I think it will be a matter of days, not weeks. Let’s see in the next steps how he responds to that.
“But he is, again, a player that we missed a lot, a player that brings the team into a different dimension. So, I am really happy to have him back soon.”
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But Gabriel appears to still be some way away from a comeback as he continues his recovery from the adductor injury he sustained while playing for Brazil in November.
Arsenal have now been without Gabriel for nine games and Arteta is unsure when he will return.
Arteta said: “We have to wait and see. He hasn't trained yet, so he’s still doing his rehab.
“But hopefully as quickly as possible [he can be back], because we know the situation now we have in the backline.”
Striker Gabriel Jesus started his first game in 11 months as Arsenal beat Crystal Palace on penalties to reach the Carabao Cup semi-finals on Tuesday.
The Brazilian played 86 minutes on his 100th Arsenal appearance, and Arteta admitted that, despite the 28-year-old only recently returning to fitness, it had always been the plan to give Jesus close to 90 minutes against Palace.
Arteta said: “Yeah, he’s very fit. We’ve been gradually increasing his minutes, but today as long as he was okay, everybody was happy to let him go. And before we started to take risks and get him into fatigue mode, we took him off, but I am very happy.”