Henrikh Mkhitaryan hopes to have put his injury struggles behind him this season having returned to the pitch for Arsenal's Under-23 side on Monday.
The Armenia international suffered a fractured metatarsal in his right foot during the Gunners' 3-1 victory over Burnley on December 22 and he has been sidelined ever since.
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The 30-year-old has worked tirelessly to come back, with the Arsenal medical team already busy dealing with the likes of Rob Holding and Danny Welbeck who are both out with season-ending injuries.
However, Mkhitaryan returned to action for Arsenal’s Under-23 side where he helped Freddie Ljungberg’s side to a 3-0 lead over West Ham by half-time before the match was called off due to adverse weather conditions.
“After a while, I came back. I started playing with the Under-23s and I'm very happy,” Mikhitaryan told the club’s official website . “I hope that I won't have any more injuries and I will keep playing.
“I'm thankful to everyone who has been working with me. To the medical staff, to the fitness coach and everyone, even to my team-mates. They were supporting me every day.
“It's life, everything is happening and you can get injured or something like that. I hope that no one gets injured anymore and the team can be fully fit for the next games.”
Prior to his injury, Mkhitaryan played a crucial role under Unai Emery having made 20 appearances already this season, scoring four times in the Premier League.
The Spanish manager will be pleased to have the 30-year-old back at his disposal with a busy end to the season coming up.
Arsenal are three points off Chelsea who are in fourth place, while they also have upcoming fixtures against BATE Borisov in the round-of-32 stage of the Europa League.
Mkhitaryan's return is a timely boost with the Gunners struggling of late, losing three of their last five fixtures in all competitions.
Emery will be hoping to use Mkhitaryan’s creativity and flair to restart a stalling Arsenal frontline, with the side scoring just six goals in their last five games.
Arsenal’s next game is against Huddersfield on February 9 in the Premier League.