Mikel Arteta is expected to be without Takehiro Tomiyasu for Arsenal's return to Premier League action against Wolves on Thursday night.
The Japan international is the Gunners' only injury doubt ahead of their trip to Molineux as he's been struggling with a calf problem first sustained during the 4-1 win over Leeds United in December.
He did return to action on New Year's Day against Manchester City after missing the Boxing Day win at Norwich City due to a positive Covid-19 test, but that remains one of two outings for the 23-year-old in 2022.
Arteta's decision to rush Tomiyasu back for the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg clash at home to Liverpool last month ultimately backfired as the defender's calf injury flared up again.
As a result, he missed the goalless draw at home to Burnley with the Arsenal manager revealing his £18million summer signing from Bologna was set for a spell on the sidelines.
"Tomi had an injury and we didn’t have anybody to play in that position against Liverpool," Arteta revealed after the Burnley game. "He needs to recover and look after himself, to try and be available as quick as he can.
"He will be out for a few weeks."
A fortnight has passed since Arteta issued this update, but the fact that Tomiyasu didn't travel to Dubai for the warm-weather training camp may be a clue that he's not quite ready to return to action just yet.
With that said, not being able to call upon Tomiyasu is not a new problem for Arteta as the defender has missed a total of seven games across all competitions since arriving at the Emirates Stadium.
Now, his absences from those matchday squads have not all been injury or Covid-19 related as he was rested for the earlier rounds of the Carabao Cup.
But it would appear that Arteta has to plan for the Wolves game without his first-choice right-back.
Of course, the obvious candidates to replace the Japan international are Cedric Soares, Benjamin White and even Nuno Tavares who made his competitive Arsenal debut at right-back against Brentford in the season opener.
However, it seems Arteta has already hinted at who will get the nod.
Judging by the Spaniard's team selections when Tomiyasu has been unavailable this season, it's almost certain that Cedric will make his first Premier League start since the 5-0 loss away at Manchester City back in August.
The Gunners no.17's opportunities have been limited since the summer transfer window closed, but he did start cup games against AFC Wimbledon, Leeds, Sunderland, Nottingham Forest and Liverpool when Tomiyasu was either injured or rested.
In addition, he replaced the Arsenal no.18 in the league game at Leeds where the injury problems first started.
Interestingly, White did get the nod at right-back for games against Norwich and Burnley, but it should be noted that Cedric was also unavailable for those fixtures.
The Portuguese defender has since returned to full training and could be in line to start at Wolves as the north London outfit aim to record their first win this year.
