There was some more positive news for another forward, however, with former Manchester United forward Danny Welbeck
returning to full training in the week and in contention for a recall to the starting XI.
The 22 - year - old is not expected to
return to full training for a number of weeks because of a niggling problem related to the knee injury that sidelined him for more than a year.
Currently sidelined with an ankle injury, the England international will
return to full training next week where he will be competing with the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil for a central midfield position.
feel that we need to sign a cdm to give coq competition else he will take his place for granted with another cdm menas more depth & could bring the best out of them Hector
Bellerin returns to full training.
And don't forget that the long term absentees Theo Walcott and Serge
Gnabry returned to full training last week, although how close they are to match fitness is unsure.
As per freelance injury analyst Ben Dinnery, as seen in the tweets below, Mousa Dembele, Erik Lamela and Danny Rose are all
slowly returning to full training with the first team and are making progress in their respective recoveries from injury.
It was being reported that Arsene Wenger had been handed a defensive boost as well after Shkodran
Mustafi returned to full training, but the German has not even made the bench today so Per Mertesacker starts again in an unchanged back line.
The
former returned to full training this week after suffering an ankle injury on international duty with England, while the latter joined his teammates in Thursday's session at Melwood having been forced off in the closing minutes of last weekend's win over AFC Bournemouth due to a knock.
The English man has not appeared in any match since he sustained the injury last month in a match against Manchester City but is now fit to return to the squad, while Per Mertesacker and Mathieu Debuchy have
also returned to full training.
The 24 - year - old midfielder completed 90 minutes and scored his first goal in 11 months in the under - 21's defeat to West Brom on Monday night, his third appearance for Arsenal's second string side
since returning to full training.
With Olivier
Giroud returning to full training on Thursday only a few weeks after Theo Walcott made his second half return against Burnley, Arsenal supporters will be relieved that the injury concerns are slowly diminishing.
Striker Daniel Sturridge, 26, has
returned to full training with Liverpool — but boss Jurgen Klopp has still to decide if he can face Manchester City on Saturday, the Daily Mirror reports.
Mathieu Debuchy hopes to
return to full training next month and is determined to make up for lost time after an early setback to his Arsenal career.
A photo posted by Dejan Lovren (@dejanlovren06) on Sep 11, 2016 at 4:14 am PDT Emre Can has handed Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp a boost after
returning to full training at...
Brannagan, who has been on Liverpool's books since he was 5, only recently
returned to full training after four weeks out with ankle ligament damage but has been given the go - ahead to return to action.
The Gunners came into the match missing a number of international stars, who were yet to
return to full training, and started the match with a number of squad members, including Mathieu Debuchy, Jeff Reine - Adelaide, who only joined from yesterday's opponents 12 months ago, and the returning Alex Oxlade - Chamberlain.
Walcott is meant to
return to full training this coming week, but it seems we've been hearing «next week» for a while now.
The England international has been watching from the sidelines since suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury in January against Tottenham Hotspur, but finally made
his return to full training recently and was hoping to be in line for a start.
Abou Diaby joins Debuchy, Mikel Arteta & Wilshere in
a return to FULL training Hoping for an update on Ox & Welbeck today
Sturridge has been sidelined with a hip problem he sustained during the FA Cup quarter - final replay against Championship outfit Blackburn Rovers back in April, but
he returned to full training earlier in the month and is in contention to make his first Anfield appearance since netting against Manchester United six months ago.
He tweeted after the game that it wouldn't be long before
he returns to full training now that he has finished his holiday, although I distinctively remember Arsene Wenger previously saying that Ozil and other key players wouldn't return to training until the final week prior to the season opener.
According to what the Gunners boss Arsene Wenger said in his last press conference, the former Barcelona man is yet to
return to full training.
Thiago and Adriano have
both returned to full training and should both make the 18 - man squad for Barcelona, though they're unlikely to start.
With Arsenal in the midst of an injury crisis, especially in midfield, the Gunners are set to receive a massive boost on the injury front as veteran midfielder Tomas Rosicky is set to
return to full training in three weeks time, and could be available for selection by mid-January.
Arsenal of course now welcome back Alexis and Ramsey to the side after returning from their respective extended holiday periods, meaning that the Gunners only await on Ozil, Giroud and Koscielny to
return to full training.
As noted by Sky Sports, Matip won't feature again this season, and so the Liverpool Echo reporting that both Dejan Lovren and Joe Gomez are set to
return to full training this week will be music to the ears of their manager and supporters.
Ahead of the impending clash against Borrusia Dortmund in the Champions League, the Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has been given a huge injury boost as Laurent Koscielny has
returned to full training after spending two months on the sidelines with an achilles injury.
It is not an easy February fixture list, with Southampton at home, Bournemouth away, Leicester at home and finally a trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United, but if Arsenal play anything like our top level we could easily take maximum points and so getting the likes of Ozil and Alexis Sanchez this weekend was a big plus point and
the return to full training of Francis Coquelin is another massive boost.
Gomez has not featured for his club since sustaining an ankle injury on international duty with England but
returned to full training at Melwood this week, while Lovren is fit after being forced off late on against AFC Bournemouth last weekend.
Nathaniel Clyne hasn't played this season so it will take him several weeks to get up to match fitness, however, he has
returned to full training and I expect to see him rack up the minutes in the coming weeks as he is rotated with Alexander - Arnold at right - back in Gomez's absence.
Arsenal winger Alex Oxlade - Chamberlain has been battling an ongoing groin problem for the past six weeks which has limited his time on the pitch to just 40 minutes; however Arsene Wenger did confirm that the player has
returned to full training and maybe considered for this weekend's FA Cup final.