Mikel Arteta hopeful of Kai Havertz return for Champions League semi-final vs. Atletico Madrid

Mikel Arteta says he is hopeful that Kai Havertz will be fit to face Atletico Madrid in Tuesday’s second leg of Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final.

Arteta confirmed that Havertz and defender Jurrien Timber would not be fit for Saturday’s Premier League fixture against Fulham, but indicated the German international striker was close to a return.

“Hopefully for Atletico he will be available,” Arteta explained at Friday’s press conference. “He’s pushing every boundary.”

Club captain Martin Odegaard, who was substituted during the second half in Madrid, is a doubt for Fulham.

“Let’s see,” Arteta said. “Let’s see how everybody is tomorrow morning, we haven’t been able to train much. Tomorrow we will have the final update.”

Havertz was injured during Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Newcastle on April 25, but The Athletic reported that Arsenal were relieved to discover he had avoided serious injury.

Arteta acknowledged that Havertz’s injury problems have significantly disrupted his plans this season.

“He’s been a huge miss,” said Arteta. “We’re talking about one of the most important attacking players that we have. He’s been out for seven or eight months. He’s not the only one unfortunately with a long-term injury, but the team has shown an incredibly capacity to overcome this kind of scenario and still be very, very competitive.”

Havertz will have two years remaining on his Arsenal contract come the summer, but Arteta would not be drawn into discussion about his future.

“Now the focus has to be on availability and performance,” said the Arsenal manager. “Kai is desperate to be on the pitch as soo as possible.”

Arsenal face Fulham on Saturday with the opportunity to go six points clear at the top of the Premier League, though they would have played two more games than title rivals Manchester City.