Injured Welbeck will be ‘back in January’ – Wenger

Joe Williams

Arsene Wenger has revealed that Arsenal forward Danny Welbeck is recovering ahead of schedule and will be back in January, while he has hailed the progress of the Gunners’ medical department.

The former Manchester United forward has been out of action since May after he suffered cartilage damage to his right knee against Manchester City and was given an initial nine-month timescale to make a full recovery.

However, Wenger believes he will be available for selection again much sooner which will give Arsenal an extra boost heading to the second part of the season.

“He’s ahead of schedule and he’ll be back in January,” Wenger said. “It will take two months competition for him to get back to his best.”

Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey are also closing in on first-team returns, and Wenger reckons Arsenal have made great progress in both preventing and managing injuries.

He added: “We’ve improved on muscular injuries tremendously over the last two or three years and hopefully we can continue that.”