Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie have returned to training with Arsenal in a double boost for the team ahead of this weekend’s match against Manchester United.
Arsenal’s training session on Friday brought a couple of pieces of good news on the injury front, with Charles Watts confirming that both Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie were back in full training with the first-team squad.
With no new absentees joining the injury list, that leaves only Max Dowman not involved with the group ahead of Sunday’s game against Manchester United.
This is particularly good news in Hincapie’s case, as Mikel Arteta had been vague with his previous answers on the defender’s fitness and suggested further assessments were necessary to clarify it.
Evidently those assessments brought good news, and Hincapie may end up only missing one Premier League match (and three games in other competitions) with his groin issue.
Calafiori has been out for a while longer, missing eight games in all competitions over the last four weeks. So whilst his return is a major boost, he might need to be eased back in at first.
Kai Havertz also trained with the team amid recent speculation around his fitness. There hadn’t been any suggestion of a setback, only a flare-up that has needed managing, but it’s still good to see him involved.
Mikel Arteta may provide further updates on Arsenal’s injury in his press conference later today.