Emile Smith Rowe has provided a positive update on his recovery from injury and is aiming to be back to full fitness for Arsenal by Christmas.
The attacking midfielder has been sidelined since the start of September after undergoing surgery on a troublesome groin problem which hampered his involvement at the beginning of the campaign. Smith Rowe, 22, has made just four appearances so far this campaign - all as a substitute with his amount of minutes equating to less than a half of football.
His last appearance was in the 3-1 defeat to Manchester United on September 4, after which Arsenal and Smith Rowe took the decision for him to go under the knife in a bid to resolve the issue. That decision scuppered any hopes Smith Rowe had of making England's World Cup squad, but he has assured fans he plans to be back in action soon.
“Hopefully by the first game after the World Cup [I'll be back playing],” he told Sky Sports during an interview at the F1 Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi. “I’m actually out here [in Abu Dhabi] doing rehab, today was my day off, I’m back training tomorrow.
“I’m back on the pitch, it’s going well.”
Smith Rowe could face a battle to earn his way back into Mikel Arteta's starting lineup, with the Gunners currently five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table. Despite Smith Rowe being handed the No.10 shirt last year, Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has flourished in the advanced midfield role, while Fabio Vieira is offering stern competition.
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With Gabriel Martinelli also in good form on the left wing, Smith Rowe may have to be patient and wait for his chance. Arsenal's first competitive game back is on Boxing Day when they host West Ham.
However, they do have two friendlies arranged before then which Smith Rowe may be eyeing as potential warm-ups for his return. The Gunners play Lyon on December 8 before facing AC Milan five days later in the Dubai Super Cup friendly tournament.
It has also been reported Arsenal are planning a third friendly against Juventus a week before Christmas on December 17. Once the season resumes, Arsenal will be juggling a hectic schedule with Europa League games to also consider from February.
Arteta has already spoken on the difficulties of rotating his squad and admitted a lot will depend on the condition of his players once they return from World Cup duty. Quizzed last month on how his squad will hold up, he said: "It will depend on a lot of factors.
"How the players are performing, the injuries that we have, what happens in the World Cup; there are a lot of question marks that we don’t have the answers to.
"We are planning to have the right resources to continue the way that we are right now, but again, as you said, a World Cup like this has never happened. We have to all experience it and try our best to get the right outcome."
