Bukayo Saka has returned to training for Arsenal ahead of their clash with Premier League leaders Liverpool, live Sky Sports at Super Sunday.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta insists the 23-year-old still needs to prove his match fitness as he recovers from an injury sustained on international duty, but his comments have raised hopes of a return.
The Gunners will be without the suspended William Saliba for the visit of Liverpool, while Martin Odegaard is injured, but Arteta is refusing to rule out Riccardo Calafiori or Jurrien Timber.
“He has done some training on the grass,” Arteta said of Saka in his pre-match press conference on Friday.
“How far we can take him on Sunday is a different question. We have another day, which is good.”
Defender Calafiori added to Arsenal’s availability problems when he had to be substituted after jarring his knee in Tuesday’s Champions League win over Shakhtar Donetsk.
“He needs some more tests,” Arteta said. “They had some yesterday, today they will have more and from there we will know.
“In the end we thought it was really bad and he ended up playing two or three days after, so let’s see.
“We’ll do our best to make it available, but we’re not too sure.”
On Timber, who has not featured since before the international break, Arteta added: “He had the first session to be able to participate.
“He’s been out for a while. We expect him to be back more than he is now, but again we’ll have to wait and see.”
In addition to captain Odegaard, Arsenal are also without Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney through injury, while Oleksandr Zinchenko has not featured since recovering from a calf problem.
‘We can’t feel sorry for ourselves’
Saliba’s suspension is a significant blow, as the France international has started every Premier League game since the start of last season.
His absence, coupled with the doubts of others, has left Arteta confused about how to manage the backline, and who partners Gabriel Magalhaes at centre-back.
“We have different options, players who have played there before,” he said.
“It’s true that the partnership is very stable. He’s playing every minute and now he’s not available.
“We have to find a different solution, that is, as a team, we have to be good.
“We’ve had a lot, especially in the back line, in the first few months of the season.
“We’ve had to adapt to that, so we’ve got some versatile players who have helped us.
“Ideally, we also have other options and are more consistent, but that’s the situation we have now.”
Defeat at Liverpool would leave Arsenal seven points from nine games, but Arteta urged his players not to feel sorry for themselves despite a wave of injuries and suspensions in the early months of the campaign.
“It’s a game. Obviously we don’t want to be in that situation, but we’re lucky to have the players we have, to have the squad we have, to have the attitude we have.
“When we have to respond to a difficult situation, we don’t feel sad – we face it.
“We are a team that knows how good we are and how difficult it is for our opponents.
“Having a ruthless mentality is what I love.”
Watch Arsenal vs Liverpool live on Sky Sports Premier League from 4pm on Sunday; kick-off 4.30pm