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Arsenal boost as key man vows to make injury return next month

By on December 6, 2016

per mertesacker arsenal

Arsenal captain Per Mertesacker is ready to hand the club an injury boost after declaring that he plans to return to action next month.

Mertesacker is yet to feature this season after suffering knee ligament damage during our pre-season friendly with Lens back in July.

The centre-back has endured a long rehabilitation programme back in his native Germany but returned to north London late last month as he looked to step-up his recovery.

Per was snapped back in light training at London Colney on Monday afternoon as he builds up his fitness and the defender has now revealed that he’s pencilled in to return to first team action in January.

Mertesacker is quoted as saying by the Mirror:

“I’m hopeful that I can join the team properly and be available to the team next year.

“That’s my resolution. I want to be back on the pitch and with the ball. I’m able to run now, painless, and it’s what it’s all about.

“When you are able to run again after such a long time it makes you feel happy.”

Obviously Per is going to need several weeks of training to rebuild his fitness and I wouldn’t be surprised if he turned out for the under-23’s a few times before Arsene Wenger considers him for the first team.

However, as long as he manages to avoid any set-up during the coming weeks, hopefully we should see the German back in the squad during the early stages of the New Year and it will be a big boost to have him available again.

It’s a long, gruelling season and while Mertesacker may now have lost his first team place to Shkodran Mustafi, he’ll still be a very useful player to have as we compete in three different competitions during the second half of the campaign.