Arsenal frontman Gabriel Jesus will be keen to make his return to the matchday squad when they take on Fulham this afternoon.
The talented striker sustained a medial collateral ligament injury during Braziil's World Cup campaign back in November 2022, needing surgery before undertaking a lengthy rehabilitation process back in north London. The 25-year-old had started his Gunners career in fine form, scoring five goals and providing a further five assists in just 14 Premier League fixtures for Mikel Arteta's side.
While the north Londoners have fared well without Jesus, their upcoming Premier League and Europa League schedule will mean that Arteta will be hoping to have the former Manchester City star back as soon as possible, with Arsenal desperate to win this season's Premier League title ahead of City.
So with that being said, football.london has rounded up all of the latest news on Jesus' injury below.
READ MORE: Gabriel Jesus injury return plan revealed as Arsenal make late change to prepare for Fulham
Fulham boost
Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard are both in contention to make the matchday squad for today's Premier League clash against Fulham, according to Goal.
Their report claims that the attacking duo have a chance of featuring for the crucial outing at Craven Cottage, a major boost for Mikel Arteta considering Eddie Nketiah looks set to miss the match against the west London side.
Return plan
Gabriel Jesus was reported to be travelling to Lisbon for the clash with Sporting CP, but that wasn't the case as the Brazilian didn't join the rest of the squad. Reports since have claimed that a late change in plans meant the Gunners travelled back from Portugal on Thursday after the game, altering the initial idea of Jesus featuring in training during the trip and staying at home instead.
It leaves the club with a late decision to make on whether the 25-year-old will be available at all for the clash with Fulham on Sunday.
Full training return
Arsenal have been handed a huge injury boost ahead of their Europa League round of 16 clash against Sporting CP. Gabriel Jesus was among those who trained at London Colney on Wednesday morning ahead of the European tie on Thursday evening.
Travelling to Lisbon?
Gabriel Jesus is expected to travel to Lisbon with the rest of the Arsenal squad ahead of Thursday's UEFA Europa League clash against Sporting CP, according to The Sun.
However, it is unlikely that the 25-year-old will be involved against the Portuguese side as he continues his recovery having been out of action with a knee injury since the end of November.
Mikel Arteta offers positive update
Mikel Arteta has offered a positive update about his number nine, with the Spaniard admitting that Jesus has been doing some work with the squad in training.
Arteta said: "He's not far now. I don't want to give a timeline but he's doing certain things with the team, certain things outside the team. He's not very close but he is not far at all.
"He's feeling better every day and the doctors are confident with the way the injury is evolving and we are in a good place with him I think."
Recent player post
Jesus has now taken to social media, posting a picture where he can be seen back on the field, playing with a ball. "Step by step", his tweet read, alongside multiple emojis before the hashtags of "alômãe" and "gratidão", which roughly translate to "hello mother" and "gratitude", the former of which refers to his iconic phone call celebration to his mother.
Fans will hope this means he is nearing a return to full training ahead of a busy schedule in the Premier League and Europa League.
Read the full story here.
Positive news
Arsenal are hopeful of having Jesus back in the first-team squad before the international break towards the end of March, football.london understands. The north London outfit welcome Crystal Palace to the Emirates Stadium before club action pauses for a fortnight due to international fixtures.
The Gunners are hopeful of having the former Manchester City frontman back in the squad before players head off with their respective nations.
Read more here.
Arteta update ahead of Man City
Mikel Arteta has confirmed there are no fresh injury concerns ahead of Arsenal's Premier League clash against Manchester City whilst offering a fresh update on Jesus' recovery.
Jesus has been absent since the beginning of December after undergoing knee surgery as a result of sustaining medial ligament damage during the World Cup group stage fixture against Cameroon.
Whilst there is no timeframe for his return to action, he is making very good progress.
"Doing really well," Arteta said when asked how Jesus is doing. "He’s on the pitch, he’s been doing quite a lot of work on the ball already and so far his rehab is going well."
Asked if there was a timeframe for Jesus' return, Arteta added: "Unfortunately no. Ask the doctor maybe he’ll give you one!"
Arteta update ahead of Brentford
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has delivered an update on Jesus' progress ahead of Saturday's crucial league clash against Brentford. When asked about injury updated, the Spaniard replied: "The ones that were long-term like Emile, Reiss and Gabi Jesus are closer.
"They have started to do some activities and have been outside but they are not ready yet to contribute."
Trainer post
Jesus continues to keep Arsenal supporters in the loop with how his recovery is coming along and his personal trainer Andre Cunha has now posted some footage on Instagram showing the player running outside on the grass.
Read the full story here.
Grass update
Jesus has now taken to social media to deliver another update to his fans ahead of Arsenal's clash against Everton on Saturday.
"After eight weeks", his Instagram story caption read, accompanied by a picture of him finally back on the grass. Arsenal will hope to have him back in full training as soon as possible as they continue to hunt for their first league title since 2004, currently sitting five points clear at the top of the table.
February prediction
Gabriel Jesus could be available for selection by the end of February, given his latest comments to Khabib Nurmagomedov, who was in attendance for the Arsenal vs Manchester United clash on January 22.
Speaking to the now-retired former UFC Champion, Jesus admitted he hopes to be back on the pitch in "four to five weeks".
Two fixtures against Man City, in the Premier League and FA Cup, along with matches against Everton, Brentford and Aston Villa in the coming weeks will likely come too soon for Jesus, but using his own timeline, he could be available for the clash with Leicester at the end of February.
Arteta's comments
Speaking about Jesus ahead of Sunday's North London Derby against Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said: "He’s progressing really well, he’s working really hard, he’s in the right place in terms of the time that we set for him, but he’s still a bit far."
When asked if Jesus would return this season, Arteta added: "I’d like to see him very quickly but I don’t think it’s gonna happen. "We’re going to have to be patient with that one. But let’s see.
"It’s a complicated surgery, in any surgery, there are always a lot of things were you have to be cautious. He’s a player that’s going to push to be really fast on the pitch."
Encouraging update
Jesus has taken to social media again to provide another encouraging update on his recovery. The striker took to Twitter to post a video over a minute and a half long.
The video includes various shots of Jesus stepping up the intensity of his recovery with boxing, stretches, body resistance training and even a clip of the Gunners striker using the leg extension machine on his injured knee with no leg brace.
Evolving everyday. #alômãe#gratidão#doperi#progress pic.twitter.com/Mr04yyCZCs
— Gabriel Jesus (@gabrieljesus9)
Return boost
Jesus provided Arsenal fans with an update that could spell positive news for the Gunners. The Brazilian took to Instagram to provide an update.
He released an Instagram story where he is seen throwing his crutches away and captioning the post ‘Freedom Sang’, which highlights he no longer needs support during his recovery from the knee injury.
Second Instagram post
For the second week running, Jesus provided an update on how his recovery is going. The 25-year-old wrote on his Instagram story: "Second week is gone." The caption was accompanied with three emoji's celebrating the fact that he's got over another difficult hurdle.
That being said, the image uploaded with the post shows that Jesus is still having to wear a knee brace. The date of when that's set to be removed is currently unknown.
Personal trainer gives Instagram update
Jesus' personal trainer has provided an update on how his client's first week of rehabilitation went.
Writing on Instagram, Andre Cunha said: "First week. A big journey awaits! Tough, difficult and uncomfortable, you can bet it is! Transformer? You can bet it will!
"Feeding your heart with the vision of the future, living in the present and celebrating the short term achievements is key. Goals set and goals achieved, and so it will be, week by week, always doing a little more. Let's go, we're getting closer @dejesusoficial! WE FOLLOW."
Read more here.
Jesus reacts to surgery on Instagram
Jesus himself has confirmed that his recovery is now well underway. Alongside a picture of him smiling with his crutches in hospital following surgery, he said on Instagram: "Hora de ir para casa (Time to go home)."
Read more via this link.
Successful surgery
Arsenal confirmed that the MCL procedure went well. A statement from the club read: "Gabriel Jesus has successfully undergone surgery to his right knee after suffering an injury during the Brazil v Cameroon World Cup group stage match on Friday.
"Gabby will now begin his rehabilitation programme. Everyone at the club is supporting Gabby and will be working hard to get him back on the pitch as soon as possible."
World Cup dream ended
The knee injury brought an end to Jesus' World Cup dream. As a result, the striker returned to London to begin his recovery. Brazil were later eliminated from the tournament by Croatia at the quarter-final stage.
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