- Jesus got injured against Sevilla
- Expected to be out for a month
- Diniz insists striker will join up with Brazil
WHAT HAPPENED? The striker had to be taken off in the 81st minute during the Gunners' 2-1 Champions League win over Sevilla after he complained of discomfort in his hamstringwhile challenging for a loose ball. Jesus has missed Arsenal's last three matches due to the issue, with Mikel Arteta refusing to set a timeframe for his return. The Sun have claimed that the Brazilianis likely to remain out of action until December, but Diniz remains optimistic that he will be fit to face Colombia and Argentina during the November international break. Jesus was a surprise inclusion in the latest Brazil squad, with the manager eager to assess his condition in purpose after a similar saga involving Gabriel Martinelli.
WHAT THEY SAID: "In the last squad, we hadn’t called up Martinelli from Arsenal," Diniz told reporters. "He didn’t report to the CBF in a very complete way, so we didn’t imagine that Martinelli would be ready to play against Venezuela and Uruguay, and he was ready to play before our games.
"Because of this too, we’re going to bring Gabriel in to find out his real condition, because we still have 15 days to go until the games, so we believe he could be fit enough to play, because I like him a lot. We have 24 players on the list, and if anything happens to him we won’t need to change the squad.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: According to Daily Mail, Arsenal want Jesus to be left out of Brazil's squad. The striker has been making impressive progress in rehab at the club's training facility in London Colney and was expected to make a comeback against Newcastle United last weekend. His return was delayed, but if Arteta fields him in Arsenal's return Champions League group stage with Sevilla and against Burnley at the weekend, Diniz will have more of a right to use him during the international break. Brazil were held to a 1-1 draw by Venezuela and went down 2-0 to Uruguay during their last set of World Cup qualifiers. Diniz will want to be at full strength when the Selecao lock horns against Colombia and eternal rivals Argentina on November 16 and 21, respectively.
IN THREE PHOTOS:
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Joilson Marconne/CBFWHAT NEXT ARSENAL? The Gunners are set to host Sevilla on Wednesday in Europe, three days before a Premier League fixture against newly-promoted Burnley at Emirates Stadium.