Emile Smith Rowe is set to return to action sooner than expected, targeting a return after the international break, according to a report.

Emile Smith Rowe is currently out of action with a knee injury, and the initial signs suggested he could be set to miss an extended period of action.

“He’s got an injury in his knee and he’s going to be out for weeks,” Arteta revealed last week. Given the player’s injury history, many feared the worst.

But Twitter user @MoArsenal86 reports that Smith Rowe’s injury isn’t as bad as feared, and the target now is a return after the international break.

Mo previously broke the news of Smith Rowe’s imminent return to the Arsenal Premier League starting lineup in October, a day before the 23-year-old made the team against Sheffield United.

The 23-year-old made his first start of the season in Arsenal’s opening League Cup game against Brentford, and he followed that up with that start against Sheffield United.

Playing 73 minutes of that game, Smith Rowe seemed to have come through the match unscathed, even providing an assist to cap things off.

But just a few days later, the England international was out of action again.

After his 37-game season in 2021/22, playing well over 2,000 minutes, Smith Rowe has racked up just 425 senior minutes between 2022/23 and 2023/24.

The hope is that he’ll now be back in action very soon to increase that figure.