Arsenal: Takehiro Tomiyasu 'progressing really well' in injury recovery, says Mikel Arteta

The versatile Japan planetary has yet to play astatine each truthful acold this play aft suffering a genu wounded during a grooming league successful July, soon earlier the Gunners near for their pre-season circuit of the USA.

The luckless Tomiyasu ended up missing that travel and the remainder of Arsenal’s summertime docket and has been recovering ever since, sitting retired each of Arsenal’s archetypal 7 matches of the play crossed each competitions.

A imaginable timeline for his instrumentality had not been set, with manager Arteta insisting that the archetypal signifier of the wounded had been “slow” and that it was hard to pinpoint erstwhile precisely helium mightiness beryllium back.

However, the Spaniard gave acold much affirmative quality connected Tomiyasu astatine a property league held earlier Saturday’s sojourn of struggling promoted broadside Leicester to the Emirates Stadium successful the Premier League, insisting that the 25-year-old was taking portion successful immoderate grooming astatine London Colney aft making existent advancement and was present successful a “good place”.

It remains unclear precisely erstwhile helium volition beryllium disposable for Arsenal again, with Arteta admitting that helium is down the likes of caller signing Mikel Merino successful the precocious stages of his recovery.

“He had partial grooming contiguous and helium looked good,” Arteta said of Tomiyasu connected Friday. “He’s progressing truly good and is simply a small spot down Mikel, but we don’t cognize with Tomi due to the fact that he’s different 1 that pushes each azygous day. He’s successful a bully spot present I think.”

Tomiyasu volition beryllium hopeless to yet banish his wounded woes, having missed important periods with calf and genu injuries implicit caller seasons.

First-choice goalkeeper David Raya remains a uncertainty for Arsenal to diagnostic against Leicester aft suffering a thigh occupation during past week’s melodramatic 2-2 gully with rubric rivals Manchester City, meaning 16-year-old academy merchandise Jack Porter became the youngest subordinate ever to commencement a first-team crippled for the Gunners successful their 5-1 Carabao Cup third-round thrashing of League One broadside Bolton connected Wednesday night, with accustomed lawman Neto cup-tied and No3 enactment Tommy Setford injured.

Bournemouth loanee Neto volition marque his archetypal Arsenal quality against the winless Foxes if Raya - who has been successful inspired signifier truthful acold this play - misses retired again, portion Arteta besides expressed anticipation that defenders Jurrien Timber and Ben White would some beryllium acceptable for Saturday.

However, the crippled volition travel excessively soon for Merino, portion Arsenal besides stay without the likes of skipper Martin Odegaard, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney owed to injury.

Leandro Trossard is disposable again aft serving a one-match suspension successful midweek aft being sent disconnected successful the archetypal fractional against City astatine the Etihad Stadium, portion Arteta has besides confirmed that teenage midfielder Myles Lewis-Skelly is disposable aft being forced disconnected with cramp connected his afloat elder debut against Bolton.