A number of Arsenal’s injured absentees have now returned to training, ahead of Saturday’s Premier League fixture against Nottingham Forest.

Arsenal's Ukrainian defender Oleksandr Zinchenko acknowledges supporters at the end of the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Emirates Stadium in London on May 28, 2023. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
Arsenal’s Ukrainian defender Oleksandr Zinchenko acknowledges supporters at the end of the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Emirates Stadium in London on May 28, 2023. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)

After winning the Community Shield against Manchester City last weekend, Arsenal will kick off their Premier League campaign against Nottingham Forest in the early kick-off on Saturday.

Mikel Arteta’s squad won’t be at full strength for the fixture, with Gabriel Jesus definitely out injured. But the injury news elsewhere appears to be mostly positive.

In Arsenal’s latest training footage release, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jorginho, Folarin Balogun, Mohamed Elneny, and Reiss Nelson could all be seen taking part in group training sessions.

NUREMBERG, GERMANY: Folarin Balogun of Arsenal FC controls the ball during the pre-season friendly match between 1. FC Nürnberg and Arsenal FC at Max-Morlock Stadion on July 13, 2023. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
NUREMBERG, GERMANY: Folarin Balogun of Arsenal FC controls the ball during the pre-season friendly match between 1. FC Nürnberg and Arsenal FC at Max-Morlock Stadion on July 13, 2023. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

Zinchenko has been sidelined for the entirety of pre-season with a muscular injury, but he made a brief cameo return to the pitch during the charity Game 4 Ukraine event last week.

Latest Arsenal injury updates and news

Jorginho, Balogun, and Nelson all suffered training setbacks during pre-season, and none of them were fit to play against Manchester City at the weekend.

The fact they’re all now taking part in training with the rest of the squad is certainly a good sign.

As for Elneny, the Egypt international has been out for most of the year so far with a knee injury. Arsenal aren’t going to rush him back into action, but it looks like he’s getting closer and closer now.

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Albert Sambi Lokonga at London Colney with Arsenal (Photo via Lokonga on Instagram)

In other training updates, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Cedric Soares, and Arthur Okonkwo all took part in the session amid speculation around their respective futures at Arsenal.

Lokonga had also been injured recently, but he returned to training last week.

At a guess, Jorginho is probably the most likely to make it into Saturday’s squad, given he was only absent for a few days and is already back in training.

Arsenal won’t want to take any risks with Zinchenko after his previous setback, and Nelson and Balogun have been out for a bit longer than Jorginho, so they might need more time to ease back in.

Mikel Arteta may give some updates on all of the above players during his pre-match press conference on Friday, though he tends to stay tight-lipped on injuries.

Latest Arsenal injury updates and news