Arsenal are hopeful of seeing Emile Smith Rowe make his return from injury in “the next few weeks”, Mikel Arteta has confirmed.
The 22-year-old midfielder has missed all but four matches of a fairytale 2022/23 season so far for the Premier League leaders, having undergone surgery on a long-term groin injury in September that had limited him to substitute cameos in the early stages of the campaign.
He has not played for Arsenal at all since replacing captain Martin Odegaard for the final minutes of their only top-flight loss of the season so far, against Manchester United at Old Trafford on September 4.
However, Smith Rowe has been working hard at his recovery and last week was included in Arteta’s squad for a warm-weather training camp in Dubai during the mid-season World Cup break.
The academy graduate is continuing the final stages of his rehabilitation in the Middle East, though missed Thursday’s 3-0 friendly win over Lyon and will not feature against Serie A giants AC Milan or Juventus before the Premier League business returns with a London derby visit of West Ham to the Emirates Stadium on Boxing Day.
But Arteta is positive on Smith Rowe’s return and hopes to see him back on the pitch within weeks in a major boost for Arsenal, who could be without star striker Gabriel Jesus for up to three months after surgery on a knee injury suffered at the World Cup.
“With Emile, he has returned to training and he's in that process after we rehab, after a period where he had some real discomfort,” Arteta said after the win over Lyon in the Dubai Super Cup, which saw goals from Gabriel Magalhaes, Eddie Nketiah and Fabio Vieira.
“So we are giving him time - he's getting closer and closer. So hopefully in the next few weeks, we'll be able to see him.”
