Injured Arsenal man expected to return after international break

Piero Hincapie is expected to return after the international break, with Mikel Arteta confirming the defender will rejoin full training ahead of the trip to Fulham on 18 October.

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The Ecuador international had recovered from summer groin surgery and made his Arsenal debut in the Champions League win over Athletic Club, coming on for a minute at the end, but a minor setback in recent weeks has kept him sidelined.

Arteta has now confirmed that the 23-year-old is on track for a full return once the Premier League resumes.

“He will be available after the international break,” Arteta said. “So we’ve been trying to do everything as fast as possible but this [West Ham] came too fast. Now we have the international break and hopefully after that, he will have a couple of sessions with the team and be ready to go.”

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Hincapie joined from Bayer Leverkusen on a season-long loan in the summer, with Arsenal holding a £45 million option to buy.

Arsenal’s medical staff are confident Hincapie’s recovery is progressing well, with no long-term concerns.

His return will be a timely boost for Arteta, who has been managing a series of injuries to Martin Ødegaard, Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke, Declan Rice, William Saliba, Christian Norgaard, Ben White, Kai Havertz and Noni Madueke in recent weeks.