Arsenal star targets Villa clash for injury comeback

Gabriel Magalhaes is expected to be out until the end of the year, according to a report, as the Brazilian closes in on a return from injury.

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Sky Sports News report that Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes remains absent from team training as of Tuesday morning, a month after the centre-back’s initial setback.

Sky suggest Gabriel could be targeting a return against Aston Villa on Thursday, December 30th.

Martin Zubimendi was also absent from training, but he isn’t injured as far as Sky are aware, so he was likely just training indoors on this occasion.

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Sky’s update is broadly consistent with Sami Mokbel’s report for the BBC on Monday, with Mokbel writing that Gabriel’s injury will keep him sidelined until the end of the year.

The Villa game is the very final match of 2025, so that timeline tracks with both reports.

There’s certainly no expectation Gabriel will be back for Arsenal’s next game against Everton, with Arsenal travelling away to the Hill Dickinson Stadium for the first time on Saturday.

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Gabriel was arguably Arsenal’s Player of the Season before his injury, putting in countless impressive defensive displays whilst also directly contributing to five goals at other end.

There’s no doubt the Gunners’ set-piece threat has dipped in Gabriel’s absence, albeit that their opening goal on Saturday came from a corner.

But the clean sheets have also dried up, with only one in the five Premier League games without Gabriel available. The 27-year-old’s return will be very welcome, whenever it arrives.