Arsene Wenger gave some good news to Gunners fans by revealing Jack Wilshere was back in full training.
The England international missed the whole of last year and has not made an appearance on the soccer pitch since a preseason friendly against New York Red Bulls in July, 2011.
A serious ankle injury ruled the 20-year-old out for the entire season last year, with the youngster also forced into a knee surgery, which in turn, delayed his progress further. Wilshere was looking to kick-on from a brilliant season in 2010-11, but had his progress curtailed by the injury.
Wenger had mentioned in previous press conferences about Wilshere's encouraging progress, and now revealed he was back in training, but said he would be extremely cautious over his workload. "We are so pleased that Jack is back in full training," Wenger told the club's official website. "It's been 14 months and that's a long time for someone at his age.
"It's an eternity, but it's great news.
"We have to give him a few training sessions to see how he copes and responds to it.
"That's the delicate, sensitive stage -- to choose when to bring him in and out. We'll have to handle that day-by-day."
Arsenal posted pictures of Wilshere's return on their official website, while confirming that another youngster Emmanuel Frimpong had also started training this week. The defensive midfielder has been out for over six months, after suffering a cruciate ligament injury while on loan with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
"We also have Emmanuel Frimpong who has returned to full training this week, which is great news as well," Wenger added. "Emmanuel has also been out a long time, but is progressing well."
Meanwhile, Wenger admitted opinions on the team's capabilities to mount a serious challenge for the English Premier League title would be made after their game against champions Manchester City Sunday.
"It's inevitable that opinions will fly around on Sunday night," Wenger said. "That is normal and accepted, you have to deal with that. So let's make sure that the opinions are in our favour.
"(Only) four games have been played and I believe some of teams are coming back into the race. The Premier League is very difficult now, it's very unpredictable.
"Let's focus on us, our consistency and take care of our attitude. I think what's been remarkable up until now is our attitude."
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