Arsenal injury news: Danny Welbeck two months ahead of schedule as Arsene Wenger delivers positive update

Welbeck had been ruled out until February but Wenger confirmed he could play again before the end of the year

Jack de Menezes
Friday 19 August 2016 12:55 BST
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Danny Welbeck could return before the end of the year after making a quick recovery from his knee injury
Danny Welbeck could return before the end of the year after making a quick recovery from his knee injury

Arsenal have been given a major injury boost with the news that striker Danny Welbeck is nearly two months ahead of schedule in his recovery from a serious knee injury, and he could play again this year after initially being ruled out for the remainder of 2016.

Welbeck suffered a serious knee injury in May earlier this year, just three months after returning from a 10-month absence caused by a similar injury on his other leg. The news rocked Arsenal at the time, given that neither Olivier Giroud nor Theo Walcott were showing the form of strikers capable of leading a Premier League title challenge, and Welbeck’s absence leaves Arsene Wenger with only those two forwards plus Alexis Sanchez to fill the gap left by his absence.

After Welbeck suffered the injury, Wenger confirmed the severity of it and said that he did not expect the England international to play again in 2016, with February 2017 pencilled in for a possible return.

But speaking in his pre-match press conference on Thursday ahead of this Saturday’s trip to reigning Premier League champions Leicester City, Wenger delivered good news on Welbeck’s recovery and suggested he could yet play again before the turn of the year.

“He has an inflammation of his knee and they had to go in again to see if it is healing well or not,” said the Arsenal manager. “If the healing was not good, he would have been out until April, but the news was excellent and he will be back around Christmas.

“He had a second check with a camera inside. That was the good news of last week, the only good news. That was very positive.”

Arsenal Match Report - Jack de Menezes

Wenger’s bad news came in waves though, with both Aaron Ramsey and Alex Iwobi added to his injury list, meaning Arsenal could go into this weekend’s trip to the King Power Stadium without eight recognised first-team members.

That number could be offset though by the premature return of three key players in Mesut Özil, Giroud and – most importantly – Laurent Koscielny, who Wenger admitted could be rushed back to action despite being short on match fitness after a post-Euro 2016 holiday.

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