William Saliba has returned to training already in a surprise injury boost for Arsenal and will be assessed ahead of Saturday's clash with Nottingham Forest.
The French defender rolled his ankle during the warm-up ahead of his side's 1-0 Premier League defeat by Liverpool prior to the international break but still started the game at Anfield, lasting just a few minutes before hobbling off and being replaced by summer signing Cristhian Mosquera.
Saliba subsequently withdrew from the France squad for 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine and Iceland, with fears that he could miss a key stretch of games for Arsenal heightened after reports from France last weekend that stated he was facing up to a month on the sidelines.
However, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has now revealed that the influential centre-back has resumed training already and could even be in contention to feature in Saturday's lunchtime kick-off against Ange Postecoglou's Nottingham Forest at the Emirates Stadium as the Premier League returns.
"William trained today, so we have a decision to make whether we play him or not," Arteta told reporters on Friday.
Fellow defender Ben White is definitely fit to return this weekend after missing the last two games with an unspecified injury, while Bukayo Saka remains out but is progressing well in his recovery from a latest hamstring issue, according to his manager.
Kai Havertz is still recovering from knee surgery but now said to be "walking freely", while Arteta has revealed that striker Gabriel Jesus is not expected to resume full first-team training until December following a long-term knee injury.