Unai Emery Insists Arsenal Won't Rush Laurent Koscielny Back Into Action After Long-Term Injury
Unai Emery won't rush Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny back into action, after the defender made his long awaited return to training this week.
Koscielny, 33, ruptured his Achilles tendon during the Europa League semi-final in May which forced him to take a seat on the sidelines for France's World Cup campaign and the new club season under Emery.
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The fight to regain his fitness and earn a new contract at the Emirates has seen Koscielny call time on his international career, but Emery has insisted the Gunners will take a careful approach in reintroducing him to first team action.
“We need to be calm with him. Calm because he needs to first feel he is doing well and then he can play and do games in the training. We can then think he is OK to play," Emery said, via the Mirror.
“He is very important for us because he is our captain. He is starting this week to do some training with us together and it is very, very good news for us.
"I think we need also to give confidence to him, to be close with us, because it was a big injury. But now he is getting better, he is training with us in somethings and this is very positive.”
Koscielny has made 324 appearances for Arsenal since joining the club from Lorient in 2010, but he has yet to feature under Emery.
The defender has 18 months left on his current deal with the club and will be hopeful of making an immediate impact upon his return to earn a new and improved deal.
Arsenal host Leicester City in the Premier League on Monday evening where they will be hopeful of making it ten consecutive victories across all competitions.
