Speaking on his YouTube channel, Goal’s Arsenal correspondent Charles Watts has praised Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka’s character when discussing the midfielder being set to return to action earlier than anticipated after the knee ligament injury he sustained in the north London derby earlier this campaign.
Following a nasty collision with Lucas Moura in the north London derby in September, which saw him ruled out until 2022 – a date that was reaffirmed by the club in their latest injury updates – Mikel Arteta, speaking in his pre-match press conference, revealed a sooner date could be on the cards with Xhaka.
Arteta said (via Arsenal’s official website): “Hopefully he will be a little bit sooner than expected. He is training and pushing himself and all the staff so hard like he always does.
“He is in a good place, he is evolving well and hopefully we can have him a little bit earlier. It is still a bit early to decide.”
Following on from Arteta’s update on Xhaka’s injury recovery, Watts said: “It doesn’t surprise me. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s back at some point in December, because it’s just the kind of character Xhaka is, and he’ll always work hard to try and be back as soon as he possibly can.
“And it wouldn’t surprise me if we see him back in a couple of weeks or so. The fact that he’s training at the moment – I’ve not seen him doing any contact stuff with the rest of the squad yet, but the fact he’s training and he’s working with a ball – January feels like a long time away from that.
“So I kind of suspect maybe in two weeks’ time, we might see him back training with the team and then could well be involved for the festive period.”
TIF Thoughts on Watts’ claim on Granit Xhaka…
The injury update is undoubtedly a major boost for Arsenal. Xhaka always insisted he would be back sooner than his initial diagnosis stated, and the Gunners will be hoping to have the 28-year-old available for the festive run-in, the busiest time of year within the football calendar.
In Xhaka’s absence, Albert Sambi Lokonga has stepped in as Arsenal maintained their unbeaten run until last weekend, but with Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny jetting off for the Africa Cup of Nations in January, if Xhaka can be back in time to play by January, it will be a major lift for the squad and ultimately, Arsenal’s season, as they seek to secure European football this season under Arteta.