Mikel Arteta reveals Eddie Nketiah is STILL wearing a protective boot after injuring his ankle

Mikel Arteta has revealed that Eddie Nketiah is still wearing a protective boot after damaging his ankle and faces “a huge challenge” to regain his fitness.

The striker has missed Arsenal’s last three games and will miss Thursday night’s Europa League round of 16 second leg against Sporting.

Nketiah impressed as Arsenal’s number 9, in the absence of Gabriel Jesus, after Christmas. But he now faces a few more weeks on the sidelines.

It is getting better. It’s still in the trunk. He still has a few weeks to go and we have to be patient,” Arteta said.

“It was a nasty injury and he has a big challenge ahead of him. Thank God it could have been worse. So he’s not in a bad place.

Fortunately for Arsenal, Jesus is almost back to full fitness after knee surgery. He returned against Fulham at the weekend and could make his first start against Sporting.

“It was great to see him back, you can feel the happiness of everyone, the players and the staff around him.” We missed him and now he’s back,’ said Arteta.

“We have to manage his minutes, his involvement in the squad and in the team. He feels good and every day that he trains he says that his sensations are getting better, so that’s very positive.

The Arsenal boss, whose team leads the Premier League by five points from Manchester City, insists the Europa League is no distraction.

The Gunners haven’t played a European qualifier game in front of their fans since 2020.

“Hopefully we build a great atmosphere and enjoy our fans against a really good team that will give us a great challenge,” added Arteta.