Kai Havertz injury boost clear after two Arsenal stars miss training before Fulham

Arsenal have already been plagued by injury absences, blows and concerns this season with two more emerging after some Kai Havertz return hope

Mikel Arteta has been handed some mixed Arsenal injury news, with two key players absent from training on Thursday after a potential boost involving Kai Havertz. The Germany international has missed nearly two months of action with a knee injury that required surgery.

A 31-minute cameo off the bench in the opening day win over Manchester United remains as his only appearance of the season. Arteta refused to offer a clear return timeline for Havertz, but his comments suggested November was the earliest he could be back.

"With Kai, we know that it will be months with him. I don't know if it can be weeks; you never know... We really miss him," he admitted in late September.

"Hopefully, he will be back, and back for the long term as well, so it is very important to look after that knee. So far, he's progressing pretty well."

Prior to the international break next month, Arsenal have three fixtures, with four on their schedule over the next 12 days. After that two-week domestic pause, a North London Derby against Tottenham awaits, with that more than likely to be the game Havertz returns for, though it would not be too surprising if he is back before then.

During Arsenal's warm-weather training camp in Dubai earlier this year, he picked up a serious hamstring injury which needed surgery and that all but ruled him out for the remainder of the season.

However, he went on to play 14 minutes against Newcastle United in the Gunners' penultimate game of the campaign before featuring for 19 minutes of the final day victory away at Southampton.

With that in mind, it would not be at all surprising to see Havertz back in the matchday squad for upcoming games against Crystal Palace, Brighton or Burnley. An imminent return is still unlikely, as he is yet to train with the team at London Colney.

Martin Zubimendi and Ben White were two players absent from the beginning of their Thursday session, with the latter missing out entirely. Rather than taking part, the Spain international was captured in a coat and shorts watching on alongside sporting director Andrea Berta.

Losing both to injury would be a concern, especially with such a busy schedule on the way. Arteta is due to hold a press conference later today where he will almost certainly provide updates on the duo.

Arsenal are already without Noni Madueke, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus and Havertz, with none of the quartet expected to be back this month. Piero Hincapie is one player that has at least handed Arteta a boost after he trained ahead of Fulham after being unavailable for the last five games because of a groin problem.