Gabriel Jesus is back at London Colney and doing light ball work on the training pitches, as he works on his recovery from injury.

LONDON, ENGLAND: Gabriel Jesus of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Nottingham Forest at Emirates Stadium on October 30, 2022. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND: Gabriel Jesus of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Nottingham Forest at Emirates Stadium on October 30, 2022. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Gabriel Jesus has been out of action with an injury since midway through the winter World Cup, missing the last couple of months of action with Arsenal.

After carrying out much of his rehabilitation overseas, Jesus recently started training on grass again. Then he took another step forward this week by making his return to London Colney.

Goal report that Jesus was back at Colney on Tuesday, and he’s now able to do some light ball work on the training pitch.

However, the focus is still on strengthening his knee, and Arsenal are reluctant to put an exact timeframe on things.

It’s clear the striker is still in the early stages of his comeback. He’s nowhere near full training just yet, and even after that he’ll probably need a little while to be fully sharp.

A March comeback still looks the most likely, as a return to full fitness and match sharpness in the next fortnight seems unrealistic, and the last game of February is already just two weeks and two days away.

Arsenal's Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus reacts as he sits on the bench during the UEFA Europa League Group A football match between Arsenal and Bodoe/Glimt at The Arsenal Stadium in London, on October 6, 2022. (Photo by Daniel LEAL / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images)
Arsenal’s Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus reacts as he sits on the bench during the UEFA Europa League Group A football match between Arsenal and Bodoe/Glimt at The Arsenal Stadium in London, on October 6, 2022. (Photo by DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images)

Arsenal kick off March with the rescheduled game at home to Everton, followed by a home fixture against Bournemouth.

After that, it’s an away European knockout fixture, probably a less welcoming atmosphere for an injury comeback.

It remains to be seen how Arsenal want to reintegrate Jesus, but there are plenty of u21 games going on this month if they need them.

  • Feb 13, 13:00 – Wolves (A)
  • Feb 17, 19:00 – West Ham (H)
  • Feb 24, 19:00 – Chelsea (A)
  • Mar 3, 19:00 – Liverpool (H)

Excluding Wolves away, all of those games would be local, so it would be easy enough to give Jesus some minutes if that’s the direction the club choose to go in.