Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has announced that Gabriel Jesus is "ready to go" ahead of Saturday's Premier League London derby against Fulham at the Emirates.
The Brazilian striker has been forced to miss the Gunners' opening two wins of the new season against Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace after undergoing an operation on a knee injury.
Jesus had previously spent three months out of action with the severe injury he picked up at the World Cup, and he aggravated the issue during the Gunners' pre-season tour of the USA.
Jesus's procedure was not expected to keep him sidelined for a long time, and a comeback in September was initially seen as the most likely scenario, but he has made considerable progress in his rehabilitation.
The 26-year-old returned to team training with Arsenal on Thursday, and speaking to reporters in Friday's press conference, Arteta refused to rule out the prospect of Jesus starting in Saturday's derby.
"It was a big blow for him, after the pre-season he had, to have another surgery. He's looking really sharp, he trained the full week really good, so he's ready to go," football.london quotes Arteta as saying.
When pressed further on whether the former Manchester City striker would be available from the first whistle, a smiling Arteta responded: "Let's see".
While Jesus's return would be a significant boost to Arsenal's attacking ranks, his deputy - Eddie Nketiah - has come up with two crucial contributions in the Gunners' opening victories so far.
After drawing first blood against Nottingham Forest, the Englishman latched onto Gabriel Martinelli's quick free kick against Palace and was brought down by Sam Johnstone, allowing Martin Odegaard to slot home from the penalty spot.
With Jesus, Nketiah, Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz all capable of operating in the number nine role, Folarin Balogun is now believed to be on the verge of a permanent move to Ligue 1 side Monaco, in what could be a club-record sale for Arsenal.
In addition, out-of-favour left-back Kieran Tierney is expected to join La Liga outfit Real Sociedad on loan for the 2023-24 season, but as ever, Arteta remained tight-lipped on transfers.
"There are some movements happening. The last week is going to be busy. Nothing that we can announce at the moment," Arteta added. "There are things that are not resolved yet, when that's the matter we will tell you."
The Gunners will go into their second successive London derby without the services of Takehiro Tomiyasu, who was controversially sent off for two bookable offences at Selhurst Park after coming in for ACL victim Jurrien Timber.
Tierney's imminent exit also weakens Arsenal's left-back options, but Oleksandr Zinchenko recovered from a calf issue to make a cameo appearance against Palace and will likely be reintroduced into the XI against Fulham.
Jakub Kiwior and Gabriel Magalhaes are also available to Arteta, who reaffirmed that he does not want to lose the latter, despite benching him for the first two games of the new campaign. body check tags ::
