Arsenal have received a huge injury boost after it was confirmed that midfielder Francis Coquelin has returned to training. The Frenchman was thought to be out for weeks but could back to full fitness as early as next week (via Arsenal.com).
It was the one blot on last week’s win over Chelsea. Francis Coquelin was having an excellent match until he went in for a challenge with Blues midfielder N’Golo Kante and came out limping.
Coquelin has been a near ever-present this season but was brought off on the 30 minute mark in the game last weekend. It was first thought that the Frenchman would be out for months, that turned to weeks and now Gunners fans have been given another piece of good news.
Arsene Wenger revealed in his pre-match press conference that the midfielder even trained yesterday. “Coquelin is looking much better than expected,” The Boss told the gathered press. “We had a test today but I still think he will be short for Sunday.”
The Gunners take on Burnley on Sunday but it was never assumed that Coquelin would be in consideration for the match. The Boss explained why his midfielder has recovered so quickly from an injury which looked serious.
“His medial ligament was not damaged as we thought, he’s keen to start again, he had a session yesterday, we have to be cautious as well.”
The Premier League takes a break for the internationals after this weekend’s matches but it is still a huge boost that Coquelin is returning ahead of schedule. Except for Aaron Ramsey, Arsenal are having constant good news on the injury front this season. Alex Iwobi seemed to recover well, Danny Welbeck and Gabriel had their layoff dates cut and now Francis Coquelin has had the same which can only be good news for Gunners fans.