Injured Arsenal player now training on grass again

Mikel Merino is back on the grass at London Colney as he looks to return from injury, with hope that he’ll be involved on the pitch this month.

Various reports on social media have confirmed that Mikel Merino is back training on the grass with Arsenal, with Twitter user @DarrenArsenal1 initially breaking the news, and football insider Hand of Arsenal confirming it later in the day.

The latter report added that the player still has no definitive timeline on his return to action, but that he’s pushing to be involved before the end of the season.

Merino has also reportedly been a regular at team meetings throughout his injury absence, as one of the member’s of the club’s leadership group.

As it stands, Merino is one of just two Arsenal players known to be injured, with Jurrien Timber the other.

Both Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard returned to the squad against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, though there is arguably some doubt around Bukayo Saka’s fitness given he went down before coming off in the second-leg fixture.

The winger certainly seemed to alright after the game, but that’s still the one to keep an eye on ahead of Sunday’s trip away to West Ham United.

As for Merino and Timber, both players appear to be edging closer to comebacks, but it’s unlikely either will be available this weekend.

The two players certainly have plenty of motivation to keep working on their fitness, and not just because Arsenal are competing for a Premier League and Champions League double.

Spain and the Netherlands will soon be confirming their squads for the World Cup, and the Arsenal duo will want to be involved.

That starts with getting fit enough to play club football, and the hope is that both will do so before the end of May.

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