Mikel Arteta has remained tight-lipped with regards to Takehiro Tomiyasu's availability for Arsenal as they prepare to face Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.
The Japan international first suffered a recurrence of a calf injury in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against the Reds back in January causing him to miss the warm-weather training camp in Dubai either side of Burnley and Wolves games.
Despite returning to the Arsenal matchday squad for the 2-1 win over Brentford last month, Tomiyasu injured his other calf in training shortly after, and it has caused him to watch wins over Wolves, Watford, and Leicester City from the sidelines.
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In his absence, Cedric Soares has delivered a series of solid performances at right-back and the Portuguese defender could be in line for another start following a team news update from Arteta.
When asked if he is planning to name the same team that started the 2-0 win over the Foxes on Sunday afternoon or spring any tactical surprises, the Spaniard's response was rather cryptic as he said, during his pre-match press conference: "We'll see tomorrow."
What this means for Tomiyasu remains to be seen, but an indicator of whether the 23-year-old will be in contention for a return should come later when the squad trains at London Colney.
Of late when any Arsenal first-team player has not been involved in the final training session before a match, it's usually a clear indication they won't feature. Two recent examples are Tomiyasu and Emile Smith Rowe ahead of wins over Wolves and Watford.
Neither player was spotted and they ended up sitting out those respective games, although Arteta's side didn't miss them too much as their top-four charge remained on track.
So if the Japan international is not involved in Tuesday's session, it's likely that his return for the north London outfit has been pushed back further and would be doubtful to face Aston Villa at the weekend.
