The good news for Arsenal ahead of Wednesday night's Premier League clash against Liverpool is that Takehiro Tomiyasu is back in training. But whether he's included in the matchday squad is up in the air.
Since suffering a recurrence of a calf injury against the Reds Carabao Cup semi-final second leg back in January, the defender has been forced to watch on from the sidelines as the Gunners have taken control of the top-four race.
Tomiyasu did make the substitutes bench for the 2-1 win over Brentford last month, but has now missed the last six games in a row and in his absence, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has turned to Benjamin White and Cedric Soares at right-back.
READ MORE: Every word Mikel Arteta said on surprise tactics, Ben White, Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool
But in potentially a huge boost for the Spaniard, Tomiyasu has resumed full training and that could mean he is available for selection when Arsenal host the Reds in a crucial battle at the top of the Premier League table.
"Tomi is the only one that's still there in contention [to miss the game]," Arteta told reporters. "We have been trying to push him, but with the handbrake a little bit because we need to be careful as we don’t want to get another injury with him. We don’t know [if tomorrow is too soon]. Let’s see how he trains today."
If the defender comes through the training session at London Colney unscathed, then Arteta will have the dream scenario of having every Arsenal first-team player available for selection. Of course, that is assuming no other setbacks occur.
With that said, the best decision for Tomiyasu would be to ease him back into action as opting to rush him back for the Liverpool game in January ultimately backfired on Arteta. In addition, he knows all too well the importance of taking a cautious approach with his key players returning from injury, especially after what happened with Thomas Partey against Tottenham Hotspur last season.
Making his first appearance in five games - the midfielder lasted just 45 minutes before sustaining a hip injury that kept him on the sidelines for the remainder of the year, and the Arsenal manager clearly learned from this mistake as he has since resisted the temptation to rush Partey back.
Last season, Partey was a substitute against Crystal Palace upon returning from the aforementioned hip problem, before making another comeback from the bench against Benfica in the Europa League after missing a few games with a hamstring issue.
And after missing the first four games of this season with an ankle problem, the Ghana international played the final half hour against Norwich City before being handed a start against Burnley a week later.
Therefore, Arteta's use of Partey when returning from injury, the way he's managed Emile Smith Rowe through his fitness problems over the past couple of months and even naming Tomiyasu on the bench against Brentford shows he won't be taking any unnecessary risks.
As a result, these decisions may hint at somewhat of a new role for Tomiyasu against Liverpool as since arriving at Arsenal last summer the defender has only once been named amongst the substitutes in a matchday squad, with his first 17 appearances for the club all coming as a starter.
That changed against Brentford as Arteta opted to manage Tomiyasu's return from injury as carefully as possible and he can continue taking this approach for Liverpool's visit with Cedric proving to be a capable deputy.
