Arsenal news: Rob Holding hands Unai Emery defensive boost as he nears return from injury
A knee injury in December ended Holding's season early
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Your support makes all the difference.Arsenal are optimistic that Rob Holding could be available for the start of the Premier League season.
The defender has been out of action since December after a knee injury ruled him out of the remainder of the season.
The early fears was that Holding would miss the start of the upcoming season too, but Unai Emery will have him available for selection sooner than he may have expected.
The Mail reports that the 23-year-old is around one month ahead of schedule after undergoing intensive one-on-one training with a specialist coach as a key part of his rehabilitation.
Holding was on the verge of leaving the Gunners last year, but quickly played his way into potential England contention with a string of good performances before his injury quickly put an end to these hopes.
The central defender recently returned to first-team training and may feature in a friendly match ahead of the new season. Arsenal play Lyon in the Emirates Cup on Sunday 28 July and then face Angers three days later, these games may come too soon with the trip to Barcelona on Sunday 4 August a more realistic target date.
Holding’s return will be a huge boost for Arsenal following club captain Laurent Koscielny’s refusal to travel to the USA for Arsenal’s pre-season tour.
Arsenal continued their unbeaten start to their pre-season with a 2-1 win against Bayern Munich, Eddie Nikitah scoring late to seal a confident victory.
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