Takehiro Tomiyasu could be in line to return to the Arsenal squad for the visit of Brentford.
The defender missed the goalless draw with Burnley as well as the 1-0 win over Wolves after suffering a recurrence of a calf injury during last month's Carabao Cup semi-final second leg defeat at the hands of Liverpool.
In his absence, Gunners manager Mikel Arteta has turned to Benjamin White and Cedric Soares at right-back.
But in potentially a huge boost for the Spaniard, Tomiyasu was back in training this week and that could mean he is available for selection when Arsenal welcome Brentford to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Although whether the Japan international is in consideration for an immediate return to the Gunners' starting XI remains to be seen, as Arteta has already revealed his cautious approach with regards to rushing the defender back too soon.
"He's there," Arteta said in his pre-Wolves press conference last week. "He had a recurring injury in the same place, so we had to be careful with him, but he’s been training hard.
"Let's see if he's available for Thursday."
Unsurprisingly, no risks were taken with the 23-year-old at Wolves as Cedric didn't put a foot wrong at Molineux and what happened in training his week might suggest the Portuguese defender will retain his place in the side against the Bees.
Whilst Tomiyasu did look sharp as he was put through his paces at London Colney, the fact that he was training on his own with Arsenal's first-team strength and conditioning coach Sam Wilson could be a sign that he's not quite ready to join the rest of his teammates in a full session.
Of course, he could still take part in the final session on Friday and Arteta will provide an update
With that said, the best decision for Tomiyasu would be to ease him back into action.
Opting to rush him back for the Liverpool game ultimately backfired on Arteta and he knows all too well the importance of taking a cautious approach with his key players returning from injury, especially after what happened with Thomas Partey against Tottenham Hotspur last season.
Making his first appearance in five games - the midfielder lasted just 45 minutes before sustaining a hip injury that kept him on the sidelines for the remainder of the year, and the Arsenal manager clearly learned from this mistake as he has since resisted the temptation to rush Partey back.
Last season, Partey was a substitute against Crystal Palace upon returning from the aforementioned hip problem, before making another comeback from the bench against Benfica in the Europa League after missing a few games with a hamstring issue.
And after missing the first four games of this season with an ankle problem, the Ghana international played the final half hour against Norwich City before being handed a start against Burnley a week later.
Therefore, Arteta's use of Partey when returning from injury and also the way he's managed Emile Smith Rowe through his fitness problems over the past month may hint at a new role for Tomiyasu at the weekend.
Since arriving at Arsenal last summer the defender hasn't been named amongst the substitutes in any matchday squad, with his first 17 appearances for the club all coming as a starter.
But that could change against Brentford as Arteta looks to manage Tomiyasu's return from injury as carefully as possible.
