Theo Walcott is on course to return to the Arsenal squad by the end of August as he continues his recovery from a knee injury.
Walcott will be absent for the Gunners opener and despite insisting the 25-year-old is on track to return to full training at the end of the month, Wenger risked aggravating England manager Roy Hodgson by suggesting he would not be available for the international friendly against Norway on September 3.
“Look, Theo Walcott is planned to come back into my group on 31st August, beginning of September at the latest,” he said. “He is doing well but he is not completely ready. I would say he could play at the end of August. But to play an international match, that could be a bit early.”
Arsenal face Manchester City on Sunday in the Community Shield at Wembley and Wenger confirmed his team are still not quite match sharp after last weekend’s Emirates Cup, which ended with a 1-0 defeat to Monaco on Sunday.
He said: “We are not completely ready physically but we should already be better than we were on Sunday. It is a good test.
“For both teams, it is a check for how good they are, how strong they are physically and how well prepared they are.”
Wenger also confirmed that Per Mertesacker, Mesut Ozil and Lukas Podolski will miss Arsenal’s opening game against Crystal Palace at Emirates Stadium having been given additional time off following Germany’s World Cup success. The trio will return to training on Monday.
Source: Evening Standard
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