Mikel Arteta has given update on injured Ben White who has been sidelined due to injury.
According to Arteta a January return “might be a possibility” for White as the defender has progressed well after undergoing a procedure on his knee in the November international break.
White has missed eight league games since then, in which Arsenal have won six and drawn two.
With nine matches in January across four competitions, focus remains on potential returning players, with fellow defender Takehiro Tomiyasu also on the mend.
“Ben is still a few weeks away,” Arteta said in his press conference ahead of the game with Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday. “It might be a possibility (that he returns in January) but he hasn’t done anything yet with the team.
“The knee looks good, he has reacted really well the first few weeks, everything going smoothly and now he needs to start to load in that knee and needs to start to get through many more things that up till now he hasn’t been able to do but hopefully, he’s good. His work ethic is unbelievable, naturally he’s a very gifted player so I’m very positive that we’re going to have him quite early but I don’t know when.
“Tomi has done some stuff on the pitch but it was a long-term injury and we need to see how quickly he can progress, and how that knee reacts. But hopefully (he) will be good.”
White and Tomiyasu not returning in the short-term, and Jurrien Timber suspended for the trip to Brighton, could see Thomas Partey move to right-back.
The 31-year-old Ghana international has played there six times this season, but his last four appearances have come in midfield.
