Arsenal fans can breathe a sigh of relief after it was revealed that the Hector Bellerin injury is not as serious as first feared. The right-back went off towards the end of a Spain U21 match on Thursday with an ankle problem, and initial reports suggested the defender could be out for a while.
That would have been a major blow to Arsenal, considering Bellerin has been in outstanding form this season, showing just why the likes of Manchester City and Barcelona are showing interest.
Bellerin went down in pain after a tackle during Spain U21s 3-0 win over San Marino, but it has now been revealed that the Arsenal defender is back in training with the squad and ready to take his place for Spain's next match, against Estonia U21s on Monday.
As Arsenal look to tie Bellerin down to a new deal, Arsene Wenger will also be relieved to know that the 21-year-old is fine, with a tweet from Bein Sports journalist David Cartlidge confirming the same.
After a disastrous start to the new season, when they went down to Liverpool, Arsenal have been in terrific form, going unbeaten since, with Bellerin a big factor in that good run. Bellerin gives Arsenal that outlet, all the time, down the right, while his defending, with every passing game, has been getting better.
Hector Bellerín training as normal with Spain U-21 this morning. No injury issue despite reports. #AFC
— David Cartlidge (@davidjaca) October 7, 2016
If Bellerin had been forced out with an injury, then Wenger might have had to use the services of a player who is coming back from a long-term problem – Carl Jenkinson. The England man has been out for nearly nine months after suffering a cruciate knee ligament injury while on loan at West Ham United last season.
The defender is back in training now and is hopeful of making a comeback soon.
"The recovery is going well, it's just lovely to be back out there playing and training," Jenkinson told Arsenal Player. "It's fantastic to be doing that again after so long out. You have good days and bad days because obviously you're still adapting after such a long time.
"Matchdays I miss a lot. I have missed them a lot because it's a sort of buzz and excitement that you can't replicate in anything else in life really.
"The build-up to a game, the pre-match and just the general vibe in the changing room as you're building up to a game, that's something that you can't replicate in everyday life in anything else."
