Alexis returns to training!
As you are surely aware, Arsenal’s star man Alexis Sanchez picked up a nasty ankle injury over the summer that has kept his fitness uncertain for a number of weeks. Originally it simply looked like bad inflammation to the ankle, however the injury took much longer to recover than expected and many had feared that the winger may be another name to potentially miss Arsenal’s opening Premier League match.
Thankfully however Alexis has announced his returned to training in London and is looking ahead to being full fit and ready for the opening weekend of fixtures.
It was becoming a bit worrying with the number of Arsenal stars that were not going to be fit for the start of the season, but at least we can be hopeful that our star man Alexis Sanchez will be able to link up with other first teamers for the opening game against Liverpool.
With Alexis hopefully back, it means that Arsenal are just sweating on the fitness of Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny, who reached the Euro 2016 final with France and will not return to training until the final week of preparation. The likes of Gabriel, Ozil and Ramsey should be fit for the start of the season despite illness and an extended breaks respectively. Of course Bellerin, Cech, Wilshere and Xhaka are already back in training so there is no real concern currently about their place in the squad. This means that despite a bit of lacking strike force up front and a Koscielny shaped hole in defence, the majority of the squad is expected to be ready for the start of the season. In fact given Arsenal’s situation in defence, if the Gunners don’t sign another centre back, I wouldn’t be surprised to see if Wenger tries to call Koscielny back early.
As for Alexis it is great news that he has recovered from his injury scare, especially as it was taking longer to heal than originally expected. Alexis being as keen as he is to make an instant impression and give 110% every time, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him completely fit, ready and sharp for Liverpool, despite only having around two weeks preparation!
By AH