Arsenal are waiting for good news on the injury front with a number of key players currently absent.
Gabriel Jesus is nearing a long-awaited return from knee surgery with Mohamed Elneny another missing long-term.
Smaller issues are affecting Leandro Trossard and Eddie Nketiah, who both missed Thursday’s draw at Sporting CP.
Illness has impacted Martin Odegaard and Kieran Tierney.
Here is your latest update of Arsenal injuries and return dates...
Gabriel Jesus
Arsenal fans reached fever pitch this week when Brazilian striker Jesus returned to training following an operation on his knee during the World Cup.
There was speculation he would even fly out to Lisbon and feature in the Europa League, alas that was not the case and he will continue to build his fitness when missing against Fulham this weekend - but a return before the international break is on the cards.
“We will try not to rush him back,” Mikel Arteta said. “We will try to make a fair assessment between what he needs and when is comfortable and as well giving the team a boost that it’s going to need in the next few weeks for sure. Everything is going well.”
Leandro Trossard
Trossard missed the trip to Sporting with a groin problem sustained early on in last weekend’s win over Bournemouth.
Arteta described the Belgian’s situation as a “worry” immediately after that game and he remains a major doubt to face Fulham. The problem is not thought to be much more severe however, and he could return for the second leg against Sporting.
Martin Odegaard
A difficult week for the Arsenal captain saw him feel unwell in the build-up to the Europa League trip, before he flew out to Portugal having recovered somewhat.
That proved to be a false dawn and he was once again under the weather to miss Thursday’s game. But Odegaard is back on the mend and expected to play against Fulham.
Eddie Nketiah
An ankle injury continues to make Nketiah a major doubt for this weekend’s game. The 23-year-old striker had already been dropped from the starting line-up for the recent win at Leicester but was not in the squad against Bournemouth or Sporting.
Arteta said last week: “It’s a bit uncertain what’s going to happen with him, to be honest. Let’s see and keep the options open. He’s very positive about it, so hopefully he will be fine.”
Kieran Tierney
Like Odegaard, Tierney was suffering with illness before the Sporting game and missed out as Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu shared the left-back spot in Lisbon.
The Scot should be fit to make the bench at Fulham.
Mohamed Elneny
Elneny’s season is over after suffering a serious knee injury in training at the end of January.
After an operation, the Egyptian’s official timeframe has been described as an “extended period of time” by Arsenal.
