Arsenal have “hope” Bukayo Saka will be fit and available for their Champions League quarter-final first leg against Real Madrid, says David Ornstein.
Saka has been absent for all of this year so far after suffering a serious hamstring injury against Crystal Palace on December 21.
He has missed the last 19 Arsenal games and is due to return in April.
It is unclear how early in April the 22-year-old will return, with Real Madrid coming to the Emirates on the eighth for a huge Champions League clash.
The Gunners are at the Bernabeu for the return leg eight days later and if Saka is not back for the first leg, he should be involved in the Spanish capital.
There appears to be “hope” for Arsenal and Saka, according to The Athletic correspondent Ornstein.
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Ornstein does emphasise that Saka will not be risked or rushed back by the club’s medical staff.
“As John Cross was first to report, that appears to be the hope of Arsenal and Saka,” he said in a Q&A.
“It would also fit with the estimated recovery timescales when he underwent surgery. But they won’t rush him or take risks and rightly so.”
Meanwhile, Charles Watts says Arsenal right-back Benjamin White should be in contention for the next England squad after Three Lions head coach Thomas Tuchel said he has made himself available but was not included this month due to a lack of game time post-injury.
White returned to the Arsenal team after three months out in February but his only start since then has come at home to PSV Eindhoven in the last 16 of the Champions League, with the tie dead and buried after a 7-1 win in the first leg.
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Watts is confident the 27-year-old will get plenty minutes in the coming weeks and can see him starting right-back with Jurrien Timber moving to left-back for the matches against Madrid.
“Ben White’s going to play a lot for Arsenal,” Watts told Sports Mole. “Timber’s playing really, really well at the moment. But the full-back position is such a demanding role.
“A big reason why Ben White got injured was because Jurrien Timber was injured. So White basically ran himself into the ground for over a season. And now he’s back.
“Mikel is in that perfect position where you’ve got two top quality right-backs who you can rotate and not have to play week in, week out. So he’ll get plenty of minutes.”
Watts continued: “I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Timber at times being used at left-back.
“Real Madrid, if Ben White is considered 100% fit, I think Timber has to come into the equation of what you do on Arsenal’s left when you look at the threat Real Madrid have got and how they utilize it down that right wing. I look at Timber’s strengths playing as a left back, I think he might be really useful there.
“But whatever it is, Ben White’s going to play loads, and you can play Timber at centre back, which means you can finally rest Saliba at times. You can play White at centre back and rest Saliba. This is what you want, if you’re Mikel Arteta, you want your best players fit. And Ben White is still one of Arsenal’s best players.
“He’s such an important member of this squad and will continue to be such an important member of his squad. I absolutely expect he’ll be in the next England squad once he’s proven his fitness.”
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