Forward underwent knee surgery in August
Arteta: ‘It will be a matter of days, not weeks’
Mikel Arteta hopes Kai Havertz is ready to return from a long-term knee injury and has predicted the German will bring “a different dimension” to Arsenal’s attack.
Havertz has been sidelined since undergoing knee surgery in August and had been expected back at the start of December before a setback in his rehabilitation. The 26-year-old was Arsenal’s top scorer in the Premier League last season with nine goals despite missing several months with a hamstring issue. He was pictured training this week and Arteta revealed Havertz had been “quite close” to being considered for the Carabao Cup quarter-final win over Crystal Palace on Tuesday.
“I think it will be a matter of days, not weeks,” the manager said. “Let’s see in the next step how he responds to that. But he’s a player that we miss a lot, a player that brings the team into a different dimension. So I’m really happy to have him back very soon.”
