Takehiro Tomiyasu is close to a return from injury and could return to full training next week, but Kieran Tierney’s situation is less clear.

The Athletic report that Mikel Arteta is confident that Takehiro Tomiyasu could return to full training next week.

Speaking after Arsenal’s win over Chelsea, Arteta had told reporters: “Tomi is really close to start doing some training sessions. Hopefully, next week.”

Whilst that prediction seems to be on track, The Athletic add that Kieran Tierney’s situation is “less clear”, for now.

It’s lucky Arsenal have completed their move for Oleksandr Zinchenko, because it doesn’t look like Tierney will be ready to start the season.

Tierney has been out of action competitively since his knee injury at the start of April. He missed the end of the Premier League season and the World Cup qualifiers with Scotland, before initially returning to action in pre-season with Arsenal.

After just one appearance against FC Nurnberg, Tierney was back on the sidelines after seemingly suffering a setback.

Arteta described it as a “slight problem” early in the tour of the U.S., before confirming that Tierney is “not fit” after the game against Chelsea, but that’s really all we know at this stage.

As it stands, Arsenal’s back four against Crystal Palace is likely to be Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, and Ben White, with Nuno Tavares and Cedric Soares as backups in the full-back positions.

Having Tomiyasu available for the opening day would be a big boost, but with a return to full training scheduled for next week, he’s set to miss his opportunity to feature in any friendlies before the season gets underway.