Mikel Arteta provides exciting new Kai Havertz return timeline
Mikel Arteta provides exciting new Kai Havertz return timeline
- Havertz was sidelined by hamstring injury in February
- German initially expected to miss the remainder of Arsenal’s season
- Arteta offers hope of imminent return
By Tom Gott | 4:30 PM GMT+1
Mikel Arteta has revealed Arsenal could welcome Kai Havertz back from his hamstring injury before the end of the season.
When Havertz went down in February, it was initially believed that the Germany international would not play again in 2024/25 – a huge blow to a side which lost its only other natural striker, Gabriel Jesus, to a serious knee injury just weeks earlier.
Arsenal struggled from open play in the matches that followed Havertz’s injury, when Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli were also sidelined with fitness concerns, but have rediscovered their goalscoring form as Arteta has used winger Leandro Trossard and midfielder Mikel Merino to spearhead his side.
The Gunners boss will have to continue with that strategy for a little while longer as Havertz is still weeks away from a comeback, but Arteta assured fans that they may see the 25-year-old back in action sooner than expected.
“If I had to bet on him earlier than expected, I would say yes,” Arteta revealed. “The way he works every day in that gym, pushing everybody, I don’t think you can hold him much longer.”
The Gunners boss did, however, temper expectations by insisted the Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain, which is scheduled to be played across April 29 and May 7, would be “too soon” for Havertz.
Elsewhere, Arteta confessed defender Riccardo Calafiori could be back to full fitness before the first leg of that European tie, but the manager declined to make such a prediction about midfielder Jorginho, who is battling a rib injury.
“If everything goes well, I think so,” Arteta said of Calafiori’s hopes of facing PSG. “Maybe a little bit earlier. So, let’s see. He’s on the pitch already, he’s done quite a lot of stuff and we just need to make the right steps now to make sure that when he’s back he’s in a good place to perform.
“[Jorginho] is probably a question for the doctor, it’s quite a specific and difficult matter, so I will leave that to the club to make an analysis.”
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