On the eve of Arsenal's Premier League clash against Everton, Gabriel Jesus provided supporters with an image and a three-word update that many have long been waiting for.
The 25-year-old has not kicked a ball in anger since the World Cup back in December as it was revealed after his appearance for Brazil in the final group stage match against Cameroon that he sustained knee medial ligament damage that ended his tournament earlier than he would have liked.
Furthermore, as the striker required an operation - which was successfully completed on December 6, as per Arsenal's official website - it meant he was facing up to 12 weeks on the sidelines thus leaving Mikel Arteta without his £45million summer signing for what has been 12 games across all competitions.
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Whilst the Brazilian has kept fans updated with his progress over the past couple of months, even going as far as to predict a return to action within 4-5 weeks after the 3-2 win over Manchester United on January 22, the Arsenal manager has been wary of setting a comeback date.
"He’s progressing well," Arteta said ahead of the 1-0 win against Leicester City last weekend. "Doing more and more on the field. The knee’s not reacting so it’s really positive. We want him back as quick as possible, but also respecting the timescale that the doctors and the specialists are giving us."
But the wait is almost over. Taking to his social media platforms on Tuesday evening, Jesus uploaded an image of him training at London Colney with the caption that read: "Step by step" and the Instagram post was accompanied by a muscle, prayer hands and football emoji.
Of course, this update sent a number of Arsenal fans into a frenzy. Some replied by revealing how excited they are about the prospect of seeing Jesus in the starting line-up, others are even more confident about the team's chances of winning the Premier League title and one or two were quite ambitious with regard to him featuring as early as tonight.
@_snichy tweeted: "Please, Everton game we need you Jesus", @OdeSZN8 said: "Start vs Everton tomorrow, please" and @Brightmvududu revealed the dream scenario: "Hope you play against Everton even if it's for 30mins, okay 20 mins I will be delighted."
In truth, it's unlikely that Jesus will play any part against Everton or make his return against Bournemouth at the weekend for that matter, although the good news is that football.london understands that Arsenal are hopeful of having the striker back in the squad before the international break.
Beyond those aforementioned fixtures, the Gunners face Sporting CP twice in the Europa League with those round of 16 ties falling either side of a trip to Fulham before welcoming another London rival in Crystal Palace to the Emirates Stadium in the final game prior to the Premier League pausing for two weeks.
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