When Mesut Özil went down with a knee ligament injury earlier in the month, he was widely reported to be out through the end of 2014. But Arsene Wenger spoke about his star playmaker’s injury on Thursday, and made it sound like it was possible for Özil to return in early December.
Mesut Özil might return sooner than expected for Arsenal
Shaun Botterill
“He is out for a while now, I think at least six weeks,” said Wenger, implying that Özil could be back in less than half of the previously reported 12 weeks he faced on the sidelines.
While Özil has not been in good form recently, Arsenal would still like to get him back as soon as possible. Theo Walcott and Serge Gnabry are nearing returns, but aren't all the way back yet, and aren't quite directly comparable to Özil. The Gunners also learned earlier in the week that Tomas Rosicky will miss some time with an injury sustained while playing for the Czech Republic in Euro 2016 qualifying.
Arsenal play Southampton, who appear to be a significant challenger for a European place this season, on December 3. They then have matches against Stoke City and Newcastle United before a massive match against Liverpool on December 21. If Wenger's more optimistic prognosis of Özil's injury is proven to be accurate, he could be fully fit in time for that trip to Anfield.
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