Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall has confirmed Beth Mead is closing in on a full playing return following her lengthy ACL injury lay-off.
Eidevall, who last week signed a contract extension at the Gunners, also gave a positive update on Vivienne Miedema and England captain Leah Williamson, who are also sidelined with a similar injury. Mead took part in a intra-squad practice game with youth team players this week, after missing out on the matchday squad in the first two league games.
The England and Arsenal star hasn't played since November last year when sustaining her injury in a 3-2 defeat at home to Man Utd. Eidevall says she should be in contention for the squad against Aston Villa on Sunday, potentially making an emotional return to action at the same stadium where she last left the field.
But the Arsenal boss did stress that Mead still had to be assessed after their final training session for the clash at the Emirates. "For squad selection," Eidevall told the media. "We have one more training session to go. If she goes through that, she should be 100 per cent ready for selection in the squad.
"She has a lovely energy, she plays the game with it. She has a right and left foot, really good attacking qualities. We all know she is a quality football player, and we're really looking forward to having her back on the pitch."
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Mead was included in the matchday squad for Arsenal's Champions League qualifiers last month, but was an unused substitute on both occasions. Miedema ruptured her ACL only a month after Mead, but is also making good progress, although not yet ready for a return to action.
Beth Mead's return to full training has given Arsenal a major boost (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)"Viv (Miedema) has returned to team training which is really nice," said Eidevall. "The next thing for her is to start getting involved in playing games, either friendly games or behind closed doors games, that remains to be seen.. but that's her next step.
"From that point you aren't miles away from squad selection. So she is definitely getting closer. We only have one or two minor injuries but the majority are in contention for Sunday."
England captain Williamson is someway behind on her recovery, having only sustained her injury during a 1-0 defeat to Man Utd in April. But she has also been pictured back on the grass recently and Eidevall is pleased with her progression.
Leah Williamson is aiming for a post-Christmas return to action"Leah is unfortunately not that close to playing," he added. "But she is progressing very well. She is out on the pitch which is pleasing and that's of course a really important stage in her return to play.
"She'll now do more basic ball work and then move onto more complex movement patterns. Leah has always been one for after Christmas. There is no way she'll be back before Christmas. It is impossible to predict at the moment."
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