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Arsenal fear Max Dowman could miss two months of action after he was injured playing against Manchester United in a friendly.

Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal manager, said the ankle injury is “part of the journey” for the highly rated playmaker as he challenged the youngster to make the most of his enforced absence from competitive action.

The 15-year-old became the latest Arsenal player to pick up an injury after hurting his ankle playing for the club’s youth team against United at St George’s Park last Saturday.

Arteta said an injury to Dowman was sadly always inevitable, given the winger’s quality and his dribbling style. Dowman has been replaced in Arsenal’s Champions League squad by Gabriel Jesus, who is ready to make his return from a long-term anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

“It is part of the journey,” said Arteta. “At some point when you play at this level, when you play in the position that he plays, when you play in the manner that he plays, it was going to happen and it happened.

“It’s not ideal [but] it could have been worse. [He can] learn from that and now use this time to continue to improve in his education, in everything that is related to professional football: his habits, the way he needs to develop his physicality as well to be with us, the understanding of the game.

“Sometimes when you are away from the game you say: ‘I can’t really live without it and how important it is’, so [he can] use those moments as well to get a reflection of where you are and give you a better force to go forward.”

The return of Jesus marks a welcome boost for Arsenal before tonight’s Champions League match against Club Brugge. Arteta’s team is in a strong position in the Champions League, having won all five matches so far, and are looking to bounce back from Saturday’s 2-1 loss at Aston Villa.

Jesus has not played for Arsenal’s first team since January, when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in an FA Cup match against Manchester United.

“I love him,” said Gabriel Martinelli of Jesus, his fellow Brazilian. “I always say he is one of the best strikers in the world, on the pitch and outside the pitch, too. He loves to link up and I hope he has some minutes in the next game to show his talent again.

“He is so experienced, he has played so many games for Manchester City, for us, and for the national team. He is still young and I tell him that. It is really good to have him back.”