Arsenal’s Nketiah weeks away from injury return, Arteta says

The 23-year-old Nketiah limped off the pitch following the 4-0 win over Everton this month and has not played since.

File Photo: “It was great to see him back, you can feel the happiness of everyone around him. We missed him, and now he’s back,” Arteta said. | Photo Credit: Action Images via Reuters

Arsenal forward Eddie Nketiah will be out of action for the foreseeable future due to an ankle injury and is not in the squad to face Sporting in the second leg of its Europa League round of 16 tie on Thursday, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said.

The 23-year-old Nketiah limped off the pitch following the 4-0 win over Everton this month and has not played since.

Nketiah had been leading Arsenal’s attack in the absence of Gabriel Jesus, and it is five points clear at the top of the Premier League table.

“It’s getting better. He’s still in the boot. He’s still a few weeks away, and we need to be patient. It was a nasty injury, and he has a big challenge ahead of him. Thank God it’s not as bad as it could have been,” Arteta told reporters on Wednesday.

Jesus, who has scored five goals and contributed seven assists following his 45 million-pound (54.11 million USD) move from Manchester City in July, played 13 minutes of the 3-0 win at Fulham on Sunday after sustaining a knee injury at the World Cup with Brazil.

“It was great to see him back, you can feel the happiness of everyone around him. We missed him, and now he’s back,” Arteta said.

“We have to manage his minutes, his involvement. He’s feeling good, and every day he’s training he says his sensations are better so that’s really positive.”

Arteta was not happy with his side’s defence in the away leg against Sporting, which ended in a 2-2 draw, and he made changes for the Fulham game.

“It was a big difference. The desire that we showed to get the ball back, the aggression we showed. The way we defended the boxes. That’s what we have to show tomorrow,” Arteta said.