Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says attacking midfielder Alexis Sanchez could make his long-awaited comeback on Sunday away at Stoke City.
The Chilean will be joined by reserve goalkeeper David Ospina who is expected to recover from the muscular problem that kept him out of the FA Cup game against Sunderland.
Midfielder Tomas Rosicky is expected to be back in the squad at the end of next week.
"We will have to test [David] Ospina who was not available on Saturday," Wenger explained.
"[He] is a muscular issue and we have to check if he will be available or not. Overall I think he has a 60/40 chance to make it.
"We have [Tomas] Rosicky back in training so the situation is getting better.
"He will be back in full training this week, it is fantastic because he has been out for very long and it is good to know that a player of that calibre is back in our squad.
"We think he [Alexis Sanchez] will be short for Wednesday, he has a chance to be available for Sunday [against Stoke]. He is always keen to play.
"If you listen to Alexis, he can always play - even when he is injured. We try to be cautious. With a muscular injury you never exactly how big the risk but he is very close. If you look at him training he is very close."
