Gabriel Jesus made his long-awaited Arsenal return in the Champions League win over Club Brugge after 11 months out with a knee injury, opening up on his comeback fears
Gabriel Jesus has confessed he was terrified to make his long-awaited comeback from injury, but is now “more than ready” to assist Arsenal during the busy Christmas fixture list. The Brazilian striker featured for the final 28 minutes of the Champions League triumph against Club Brugge following an 11-month absence due to a severe knee problem.
Mikel Arteta has been meticulously overseeing his recovery after such an extended spell on the sidelines, with his return to full squad training commencing in early November and a private friendly organised earlier this month to help him accumulate match fitness.
Jesus appeared lively during his substitute appearance in Belgium and has now disclosed how the moment felt and his conditioning targets for the forthcoming weeks. He told Arsenal’s official channels: “Everyone was expecting me to score and obviously, I wanted to score.
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“I had some opportunities, but even with that, I’m so happy and so pleased, because to come back and then to have some touches that I had tonight, and then the way I could move, the way I could keep the ball.
“So with 11 months of helping myself and then feeling scared to come back different, maybe with some limitations, just to walk outside and then play with the boys, I’m so pleased. I feel more than ready. So, I’m here to say God saved my life.”
Arteta also commented on Jesus’ comeback following the 3-0 triumph, with the Gunners manager thrilled he has returned and hugely impressed by his showing from the bench. In a press conference, he said: “So happy for him. I think you can see how much we all love him. It’s been a very, very difficult and long journey.
“For 11 months, he’s been fighting against another very difficult injury, and to see him back with that smile, with that energy and with that quality in his first performance with us is something really impressive, and we’re all delighted for him.”
With a packed schedule before the end of 2025, Arsenal will likely need Jesus. Over the next 19 days, Arsenal are set to face Wolves, Everton, Brighton and Aston Villa in the Premier League, with a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace sandwiched in between.
Arsenal will almost certainly have to tackle all these fixtures without Gabriel Magalhaes, Kai Havertz and Cristhian Mosquera.
Meanwhile, Leandro Trossard and William Saliba are grappling with minor issues and could potentially be back as early as this weekend’s match against Wolves.
More injury woes have cropped up over the past few days, with academy star Max Dowman set for a stint on the sidelines. Arteta also voiced concerns about Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori ahead of his team’s European game in Belgium.
“They both had issues from the weekend, both really bad kicks,” Arteta confirmed pre-match in Belgium. “For Jurrien it was too early and for Ricci [Calafiori] we have to manage to see if he can do some minutes. [tonight]”.
Calafiori did manage to play the last 30 minutes, however, he is banned from participating in Saturday’s league match at Emirates Stadium.
