Arsenal have been handed a major boost ahead of Thursday night's Europa League clash against FC Zurich as football.london understands Bukayo Saka did train with the first-team squad this afternoon.
The winger's participation at London Colney was thrown into doubt when he limped off just before the half-hour mark in the Gunners' 5-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest last weekend. Although, Mikel Arteta was quick to play down suggestions that the 21-year-old is set for an extended spell on the sidelines.
"It was a bad kick. Right from the beginning, he was limping, but I don't see any further than that," the Arsenal manager told reporters after the game. "Let's see how he is in the next couple of days. I think both [foot or ankle]. He got kicked a few times and he wasn’t comfortable."
READ MORE: Arsenal press conference LIVE: Mikel Arteta on Saka injury, Saliba contract, Torres and Zurich
Well, a couple of days have passed and it was always likely that today's training session would provide a clear indication with regard to how serious Saka's injury was and the fact he trained would suggest he is in contention to face Zurich on Thursday night.
In addition, there was the welcome sight of Oleksandr Zinchenko. The versatile defender hasn't featured since the 3-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur at the beginning of last month, but he has certainly taken a big step towards being available for selection before the season pauses for the World Cup.
Mohamed Elneny was spotted again after making a rather surprising appearance in training ahead of the Forest game after two months on the sidelines with a hamstring injury. The midfielder was left out of the matchday squad - presumably due to a lack of match practice - and it remains to be seen if he is involved against Zurich.
What will please Arteta is that he has a near full-strength first-team squad at his disposal in training. This is certainly encouraging news with Sunday's Premier League clash against Chelsea in mind and he will have the chance to rotate his team for the Europa League decider.
As expected, Emile Smith Rowe didn't train as he's not expected back for another month after groin surgery at the end of September - although it's very likely that he will be in attendance for Zurich's visit after revealing that he is at every home game supporting the team.
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