London, May 6 (IANS) Arsenal have received a boost ahead of their trip to Paris as Riccardo Calafiori has returned to training and is expected to make the squad for the second-leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint Germain on Thursday (IST).
Arsenal have been without defender Calafiori since a 1-0 win against Chelsea in March. The Italian suffered a knee injury while representing his country in the Nations League quarter-final defeat to Germany during the March international break.
He was expected to return for the first leg in London, but Mikel Arteta will now hope to have him in the squad for the crucial return leg. Alongside Calafiori, Jurrien Timber, who also missed the game against Bournemouth, returned to training after concerns regarding his availability in the all-important tie.
As per UEFA regulations, it was customary for Arsenal to have a part of their training session in front of the cameras at the Sobha Realty Training Centre, where the wingback was seen in action.
Ahead of Arsenal’s 1-2 loss against AFC Bournemouth on the weekend, Arteta was asked about the updates regarding Calafiori and Jorginho. The Spaniard had confirmed the Italian defender will miss the Premier League clash, but was not entirely revealing regarding the UCL game.
“Calafiori is out, Jorginho is still out. Jorginho’s got a bit more complicated than expected,” said Arteta. “Let’s see in the next few days how a few of them react,” he added.
Calafiori, who has made seven appearances in the Champions League this season, helped Arsenal defeat PSV Eindhoven 7-1 in the first leg of the round of 16. In addition, the left-back has made 17 Premier League games, contributing two goals and an assist. But before a crucial match, Arteta is unlikely to shake up his established back four of William Saliba, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Jakub Kiwior, and Jurrien Timber. Especially considering Lewis-Skelly’s consistently good performances.
Arsenal go to Parc des Princes on the back of a 0-1 defeat at home in the first leg and will be hoping to overcome the deficit in Paris when they take on Luis Enrique’s men and reach the UEFA Champions League final for the first time since 2006.
–IANS
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