Arsenal expect Henrikh Mkhitaryan to return to training next week after a month out with a fractured metatarsal.
The Armenia international suffered the injury during last month’s EFL Cup defeat to Tottenham, forcing him to come off at half-time.
It was announced on Christmas Eve that the midfielder would be out for six weeks, ruling him out until February.
Arsenal said in a statement that they predict the former Manchester United forward will be back training with his team-mates within the week, though he is still unlikely to feature competitively for Arsenal until next month.
Mkhitaryan joined Arsenal in January 2018 in a deal that saw Alexis Sanchez move to United.
Arsenal will be at home to London rivals Chelsea in their next Premier League match on Saturday. Its a Match the Gunners cannot afford to lose as this would mean they would be nine points behind Fourth place, making their task of finishing in the top four harder than ever this season.
Unai Emery’s side are on a bad run of form that has seen them win only once in their past fie league games that also included a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of table toppers Liverpool.
The of the midfielder into action will be seen as a huge boost to Unai Emery’s top four race push.