Bukayo Saka has announced his return from injury ahead of Arsenal's clash against Fulham. The Gunners will host the Cottagers at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday evening as they both look to climb the Premier League table.
The 23-year-old winger suffered a hamstring injury during Arsenal's 5-1 win over Crystal Palace back in December. Saka underwent surgery a few days later, and he's been absent ever since.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the North Londoners' clash against Chelsea before the international break, Arteta provided an update on the Hale End graduate. The Spaniard said: "Let’s see how they evolve in the next few weeks to make the right steps and then after that, they’ve been out for a long, long time, so we’re going to have to integrate them as well gradually.
"They are evolving well but they’re still a bit far. We have a meeting tomorrow to discuss where they are, especially Gabi, who probably has a chance before Bukayo to come in, but how soon that is, we’ll have to see how it evolves in the next week or 10 days."
Fast-forward a couple of weeks and Saka appears to have finally returned to training. The England international was spotted doing gym work during Arsenal's warm-weather camp at the NAS Sports Complex in Dubai last month – but this is first time he's been seen on the grass at London Colney.
"Hello again," wrote Saka, on Instagram. After just 20 minutes, over five thousand Arsenal fans flooded the comment section to congratulate their talisman on his return from the treatment room.
The Gunners will host Fulham at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night before facing Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon. Then, a few days later, Arsenal will host Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal.
On being just five games away from European glory, Arteta said: "We have to value that and recognise it’s very difficult to do. Now we want to make the next step. It’s very difficult but we are capable to do it.
"It is important for us because we want to win - and to win, you have to go through the stages, and because the club needs it. We are a club that want to be the best and want to be competing with the best in the world.
"To do that you have to constantly be there. It’s very difficult but we’ve done it for two years in a row and we have the capacity and ability to do it even better."
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
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