Takehiro Tomiyasu is on target to make his comeback from injury in line with Arsenal’s most recent schedule, according to Mikel Arteta.

Earlier this month, Arsenal posted an update suggesting Takehiro Tomiyasu would finally return to full training after the match against Southampton.

Ahead of Arsenal’s match against Chelsea on Wednesday, Mikel Arteta has suggested Tomiyasu will indeed be part of their pre-match training sessions.

Though there’s no decision yet on whether he’s ready to be involved in competitive matches.

“Tomi is very, very close,” Arteta said. “Whether this game is going to be too early for him or not, again we will decide it today after the training session.”

The right-back hasn’t made a Premier League start since January 1st amid various calf issues.

A common misconception is that Tomiyasu has been out for over three months with a single calf problem, but the reality is that he’s been unfortunate enough to suffer injuries in both calves.

Just when he was coming back from the first calf problem, he injured the other calf. Then he had a setback in his recovery, keeping him out until now.

So it’s really a series of injuries rather than one issue. Not that many Arsenal fans will be comforted by that.