Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is ready to hand Theo Walcott a starting place after his successful recovery from injury.
The 25-year-old tore his anterior cruciate ligament in 2014 and was forced to miss the remainder of the year, making his early return in November against Burnley.
Walcott has however, made just four starts since his return; but Wenger believes he is now ready to play an important part in Arsenal’s season run-in.
Wenger told the club’s official website: “He is all right now. With the cruciate, before the age of 25 you come back and you continue to develop normally. A cruciate after 28 is much more problematic.
“No [there will not be any long-term issues]. He is a natural athlete and a sprinter, and a very straight-line sprinter. He is ready now to play games. But when a player has been out for a year, when he comes back he always thinks he is ready.
“When you speak to him three weeks later and ask him if he thinks he really was ready [before] he says, ‘Now I realise, no’. I have been holding him back because he has been out for a long time and for the fact there is intense competition.”