Arsenal will not rush Bukayo Saka back from his hamstring injury.
Saka is one of three forwards out of action right now, with Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli also on the sidelines.
Jesus will miss the rest of this season due to a knee injury and Martinelli is reportedly set to be out for more than a month after injuring his hamstring in last week’s loss at Newcastle.
Saka tore his hamstring in December and underwent surgery that month, with images released by Arsenal on Monday showing the winger working in the gym while the club are out in Dubai for a warm-weather training camp.
The images also show the size of the scar on Saka’s hamstring, which underlines the extent of the operation he had. This is the first major injury of the 23-year-old's career.
The initial diagnosis when Saka suffered his injury was that he would be back in March at the earliest and Arsenal will not rush him back, even though they are currently light on attacking options.
Manager Mikel Arteta has just four fit forwards for Saturday’s trip to Leicester in Ethan Nwaneri, Kai Havertz, Leandro Trossard and Raheem Sterling.
Arsenal are, at least, buoyed by the fact their schedule is easing after starting this year with 11 games in 36 days before heading to Dubai last week. In contrast to that, the Gunners will play just seven more times before the start of April.
Defender Ben White, who had knee surgery in November, is progressing well in his recovery and could return to the squad for this weekend’s trip to Leicester.
