Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta revealed on Friday (December 26) that Kai Havertz’s return to competitive action is only a ‘matter of days’. The German striker made only one appearance for the Gunners in August,
where he picked up a knee injury that required surgery and ruled him out till Christmas.
He was reportedly quite close to a return in November, but suffered a setback. He returned to full training earlier this week, and Arteta said that the 26-year-old was even ‘quite close’ to featuring in the EFL League Cup quarter final against Crystal Palace, which Arsenal won on penalties.
“Quite close,” Arteta said when asked about how his chances were for featuring against Palace. “I think it will be a matter of days, not weeks. Let’s see in the next steps how he responds to that. But he is, again, a player that we missed a lot, a player that brings the team into a different dimension. So, I am really happy to have him back soon.”
Arteta would be delighted to have Havertz back for the second half of the season, considering the kind of impact he had in the run-in two years ago, scoring nine goals and six assists in 14 matches across competitions. His injury after the January window last season effectively ended Arsenal’s title charge.
Signed as a midfielder for £65 million from rivals Chelsea, Havertz flourished as a striker in Arteta’s system. He’s returning to a new world, where he’d have to compete with summer’s big-ticket signing, Viktor Gyokeres, and the returning Gabriel Jesus, who has sparkled in the limited opportunities.
“Yeah, he’s very fit. We’ve been gradually increasing his minutes. And before we started to take risks and get him into fatigue mode, we took him off, but I am very happy,” Arteta said of Jesus, who made his first start in almost a year against Palace.
Meanwhile, Arsenal will have to wait a bit longer to see the return of senior centre-back Gabriel, who’s dealing with a groin injury. The Gunners are also without Ben White and Christian Mosquera.
“We have to wait and see. He hasn’t trained yet, so he’s still doing his rehab. But hopefully as quickly as possible [he can be back], because we know the situation now we have in the backline,” Arteta said.
