Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is confident that Bukayo Saka will be fit for Sunday's Community Shield clash with Manchester City at Wembley.
The 21-year-old was a part of the squad to face Monaco in Wednesday's Emirates Cup fixture, but he was an unused substitute as the Gunners beat the French side on penalties following a 1-1 draw.
Fabio Vieira and Marquinhos were instead offered minutes on the right flank, and Arteta subsequently revealed that Saka was not risked on the day after feeling sick.
However, speaking to reporters in Friday's pre-game press conference, Arteta confirmed that Saka had recovered from his affliction and should be in contention to play on Sunday.
When asked for an update on Saka's fitness, Arteta replied: "Yeah, Bukayo was much better, he trained today," before stating that he was not anticipating any more fresh concerns.
Saka was not the only player forced to miss the Emirates Cup, though, as Reiss Nelson (toe), Albert Sambi Lokonga (muscle), Mohamed Elneny (knee) and Folarin Balogun (foot) were nowhere to be seen either.
Former Man City left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko has also been struggling with a calf problem, but the Ukrainian - who became a father for the second time on Wednesday - is close to a comeback.
The same cannot be said for striker Gabriel Jesus, though, as the Brazil international has been ruled out for the first few weeks of the season after being forced to undergo surgery to address a knee injury.
Jesus previously spent three months out of action following the World Cup due to a damaged knee, and despite featuring for Arsenal on their USA tour, he has been suffering from pain related to his previous problem.
The 26-year-old will therefore watch on from the sidelines against his former club, and he is expected to be unavailable for Arsenal's opening Premier League fixtures against Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth later this month.
Arteta admitted that Jesus had been left "very disappointed" with his setback, but going under the knife was the "best thing to do" to prevent a similar issue from reoccurring.
"He's fine, obviously he was very disappointed. He was feeling very good and this issue came up which nobody expected," Arteta added on Jesus.
"We had to do a little procedure there but unfortunately it was the best thing to do, as quick as possible the better, and we made that decision. I'm sure he'll be back soon and very fit."
Arsenal are going in search of their 17th Community Shield title this weekend, and the Gunners have prevailed in each of their last four appearances in the traditional curtain-raiser since losing the 2005 match to Chelsea.
The 2015 Community Shield saw Arsenal run out 3-0 winners over Manchester City, who have lost each of the last two editions to Leicester City and Liverpool respectively. body check tags ::
