Arsenal star Gabriel Jesus is edging closer to a return from a long-term injury that has seen him missing from action since the turn of the new year. The Brazilian suffered a knee issue while at the World Cup, ruling him out from playing for the rest of the tournament and for a few months.
At the time, it seemed as though it could have a huge impact on the title race, with Jesus' quality being a major miss for the side. However, fast forward a few months and the Gunners are still top of the league with just 12 games to go, with a return for the striker just around the corner.
"We will try not to rush him back, we will try to make a fair assessment between what he needs and when is comfortable," Mikel Arteta told reporters earlier this week ahead fo a clash with Sporting CP in the Europa League. "Everything is going well, he needs time as well to get himself that confidence and that physical state that is necessary to compete with a free mind and once he's free to do that, we will throw him in."
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Reports had claimed that Jesus was set to travel on Thursday to Portugal for the game against Sporting, with the possibility of featuring in the matchday squad. as well as a training session on Friday morning. That isn't what happened though as a late change to plans were made.
The Evening Standard reports that the side decided to head back to London on Thursday evening after the Europa League game instead of on Friday. This meant that Jesus didn't travel, but may face a late decision over his inclusion against Fulham on Sunday afternoon.
Arteta is currently facing a dilemma up front, with Eddie Nketiah and Leandro Trossard also out injured, meaning there's few striker options to choose from.
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