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
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.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.”
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.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments