Fabio Vieira is hoping to finally return to fitness for Arsenal’s Champions League last-16 first leg against FC Porto next week, according to a report.

Earlier this week, Evening Standard reported that Fabio Vieira is finally close to a return to full training, and he’s optimistic he can make the squad for Arsenal’s Champions League last-16 first leg match against FC Porto next week.

Speaking to the media at his pre-Burnley press conference, Arteta confirmed the midfielder is indeed closing in on a return.

“He’s very close,” Arteta said. “He’s been training already for a few days with the team. So I think it’s very close. He’ll be back probably faster than we expected and he’s in a good place.” It should be noted that when Vieira was first ruled out through surgery, it was claimed he would be back in mid-January, so Arteta seems to be talking about getting him from training to match fitness ‘faster’.

The 23-year-old is reportedly optimistic he’ll make his comeback over the next fortnight, at least, which would indeed be impressive after such a lengthy spell out.

Vieira hasn’t played a match since November 14th, and, as mentioned, has been out for much longer than initially expected.

Vieira last played for the Arsenal first team on November 11th, receiving a red card late in the Gunners win over this weekend’s opponents, Burnley.

But the midfielder was in action again three days later with the Arsenal u21s, scoring against Reading.

It looked as though the 23-year-old would be able to keep ticking over with the academy side until his first-team suspension was over.

Yet the player had been struggling with groin discomfort, and Arsenal eventually decided he’d have to undergo surgery.

At the time, the suggestion was that Vieira would be out until after the winter break. But the break came and went without any sign of a return, and it’s now been a month since the trip to Dubai.

The length of the absence was starting to get concerning, so it’s encouraging to hear that Vieira is finally on the verge of a comeback now.

Vieira scored once and assisted three times and won a penalty in just 417 minutes for the Arsenal first team before his surgery, as well as his goal for the u21s, and his winning penalty in the Community Shield shootout.

If he returns in that kind of form, it will be a boost for the squad.