Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Danny Welbeck is edging closer to a first team return, but he believes that the English striker is still short of match fitness.
Welbeck last played for the Gunners in last season’s 0-0 draw against Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium on 26th April 2015, before picking up a knee injury which has kept him sidelined for close to ten months.
The 25-year-old was initially sidelined until the start of the 2015/16 season, but after failing to make full recovery from the injury, the striker underwent surgery and that prolonged his absence from the game.
Wenger feels that the former Manchester United striker should be available for selection in three weeks.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Wenger said: “He [Welbeck] has to play two to three games to come back to the first team. He hasn’t played for 10 months.
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“In the next three weeks he should be available."
Tomas Rosicky meanwhile picked up an injury in his return to the first team, coming on as a second half substitute in the 2-1 win over Burnley in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
The game was Rosicky’s first of the season having missed the first half of the season due to a knee injury, which required him to go under the knife.
And the Czech Republic international has again been sidelined for two to three months with a muscle rupture, but Wenger feels that surgery will not be required.
“I hope not [on the Burnley game being Rosicky’s last as an Arsenal player].
“His injury is quite serious one. A muscular one.
“The good news is that he will not require surgery, he has suffered a rupture.
“We are not sure how long it will take, two months, three months, we don’t know.
“We are all of course, shocked and he is the most shocked. We have to be patient and hope that it is not his last game.
“I don’t want to be dramatic, he suffers enough at the moment. I’m more with a support attitude rather than anything dramatic.”
