Gabriel Jesus available for Arsenal ‘next week’ as clever theory emerges before Leicester
Arsenal fans have eagerly been anticipating Gabriel Jesus’ return to the team after he suffered medial ligament damage during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar while playing for Brazil, which resulted in him having surgery and being out of action since December. Although the Gunners’ manager, Mikel Arteta, has not specified when the £45m signing will return to the pitch.
“Doing really well he’s been doing quite a lot of work on the ball already and his rehab is going well,” the Spaniard revealed ahead of Arsenal’s defeat against Manchester City last week. “Unfortunately no [with regard to a timeframe]. Ask the doctor maybe he’ll give you one.”
Although there has been no official update, numerous Arsenal fans have speculated on social media that Gabriel Jesus will return to full training by the end of the month, and one fan has even gone so far as to suggest that the 25-year-old might be included on the substitutes’ bench for this weekend’s match against Leicester City.
Following the comeback victory over Aston Villa, @PaulBouman18 tweeted: “Next week Partey and Smith Rowe back! Gabriel Jesus on the bench possibly!”, @Sugamite2 said: “Gabriel Jesus will be available next week! Phew!” and @army1_x said: “Gabriel Jesus will be back next week.”
It’s worth mentioning that even if Gabriel Jesus returns to full training before Arsenal’s match against Leicester City, he probably won’t be part of the matchday squad because of Mikel Arteta’s careful approach to players returning from extended absences due to injury.
However, the idea that the Brazilian striker may soon be able to train with the rest of the Arsenal first-team aligns with what medical expert Dr. Rajpal Brar, DPT predicted following the surgery on December 6th.
“Return timeline after MCL surgery is typically 10-12 weeks,” he wrote on Twitter. “Ligament heals quite well due to robust blood supply. Granit Xhaka was back in 70 days & would’ve been sooner if not for the accompanying fracture as well. True timeline will be wait and see.”
At present, it has been 11 weeks since Gabriel Jesus underwent surgery, and four weeks since the Gunners’ victory over Manchester United, during which he informed former UFC Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov that he hoped to return to playing within a month.
Based on these timelines, there is a possibility that the striker could be considered for the match against Everton on March 1st or the home fixture against Bournemouth three days later. If not, with the Europa League matches resuming and London derbies against Fulham and Crystal Palace in the coming weeks, there should still be ample time for Jesus to make his eagerly anticipated return.
Gabriel Jesus available for Arsenal ‘next week’ as clever theory emerges before Leicester
