Gabriel Jesus posted an update on his recovery from injury which simply read ‘progressing’ although the accompanying picture of the striker on crutches and in a knee brace suggests he is a long way off playing again.
The 25-year-old suffered a serious knee injury during the World Cup with Brazil and has undergone surgery, such was the severity of the problem.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has not put a date on when he expects his star striker to be back in action, knowing that it will be no time soon.
‘With Gabby [Jesus] it’s very difficult to put a timeframe [on his recovery]. it was a significant injury and knowing him, I prefer not to give any dates away,’ said the Gunners boss.
‘It will take some time for sure. Obviously, he’s going through surgery so that’s the extent of the injury.’
Jesus posted his own update on Thursday, which at least had a positive spin, saying that his recovery is ‘progressing’.
Jesus’ former boss Pep Guardiola had some kind words for the Brazilian, even though he is no longer under his guidance at Manchester City.
‘I am so sorry for Gabriel,’ said Guardiola. ‘I would prefer that he could play immediately with Arsenal. He’s an important player for them, like he was for us.
‘I want him to have an incredible and speedy recovery – I am so sorry for him because I know there isn’t one person at this club who could speak badly about him. But he will be back.’
Arteta also explained the situations with two other injury concerns, with Reiss Nelson set to be out for some weeks, while Emile Smith Rowe is close to a return.
‘Reiss, unfortunately, picked up an injury in the game against Juventus and he is going to be out for a while I think,’ Arteta said. ‘I’m talking about weeks. Let’s see how he reacts to the next few days but he felt something straight away and with sprinters, that’s not a good sign.
‘Emile is close, he is starting to train again. He had a little setback but he is in a good place. We’ve done a lot of things with Emile – sometimes he’s been very close [to the squad], sometimes he’s been in different places to see different environments, but his attitude has been great.
‘This is part of any career, you have periods when you are out, when you have long-term injuries, and he needs to react to that. He’s got all our support; he’s a huge talent that we need for the second part of the season at his best, because his contribution is going to be key to the team.’
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