Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Gabriel Jesus has suffered a recurrence of a knee injury.
Speaking after the FA Cup clash against Liverpool at the weekend, Arteta said a scan picked up an issue that will hopefully not keep him out for too long:
“He had some pain in his knee, so we have done a scan and it has showed something. Hopefully, it is not something big but it is the same knee that he had so we cannot take any risk.”
There was some optimism that Oleksandr Zinchenko would return from a calf injury on Sunday, after missing the 2-1 defeat to Fulham. However, the left-back was absent from the squad that lost to the Reds so it remains to be seen if he’ll be available for Arsenal‘s next fixture later this month.
Estimated Return Date – January 20th vs Crystal Palace
Thomas Partey’s recovery from a thigh injury is taking longer than expected. He was not included in Ghana’s African Cup of Nations squad, suggesting he won’t be back in contention for a number of weeks.
The 30-year-old underwent an operation in October and it was originally hoped that he would be ready to play again by the turn of the year.
Fabio Vieira had surgery on a groin problem in November and the Portuguese international is due to return to fitness after the winter break. The Crystal Palace game may, however, come too soon.
Estimated Return Date – January 30th vs Nottingham Forest
Arteta has played down reports that Jurrien Timber could return from an ACL injury in the near future. There were suggestions that the Dutchman could make his comeback in February but the Gunners boss has had to dampen expectations, saying:
“Unfortunately that’s a very long-term injury. He’s doing really well, but he’s still far from being fit to train. We don’t expect him to be back any time soon.”
Timber picked up the injury on the opening day of the season against Nottingham Forest back in August. ACLs take at least 9 months to recover from.
