Tuchel delivers positive fitness update on Arsenal defender

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Arsenal have been handed an encouraging fitness update on Ezri Konsa, with the defender back in full training for England after an injury scare during the international break.

Konsa started England's 3-2 defeat to Spain but picked up a minor problem in the aftermath and was left as an unused substitute in the 2-0 win over Czechia. There was a suggestion he could be sent back to his club, but the centre-back stayed with Thomas Tuchel's squad and has now come through a full session.

Tuchel: 'Ezri Konsa is back'

Speaking ahead of England's Nations League meeting with Croatia, Tuchel confirmed the 29-year-old is available again. "It seems that Ezri Konsa is back," the England manager said via Football London. "He did the full training today and this is of course a lot of hope for tomorrow, because he is a key player for us."

That is the clearest signal yet that Konsa has avoided anything serious, which matters as much in north London as it does for England. The defender has been a regular for Mikel Arteta since arriving from Aston Villa in the summer, and any extended absence would have thinned out the options at the back heading into a congested run of fixtures.

Eyes on the return to club football

The caveat, as ever with international breaks, is the Croatia fixture itself. Arsenal will want Konsa to come through it without any fresh complaints before he reports back to London Colney.

Assuming he does, he should be available for the Gunners' next Premier League assignment against Leeds United, with Arteta keen to have as many senior defenders as possible at his disposal once domestic football resumes.

Konsa's profile is a useful one for Arsenal. He spent years in the Premier League with Villa before the move, is comfortable across the back line and brings the kind of experience that reduces the need for improvisation when rotation or knocks bite later in the campaign.

The season is still young, but Arsenal are already looking at a schedule that will demand depth across multiple competitions. Losing a first-choice defender to a muscular issue this early would have been an unwelcome complication; instead, Arteta gets his man back in training and in contention.

For now, the picture is a straightforward one: scare assessed, training completed, availability confirmed. Arsenal's attention turns to getting Konsa home in one piece and back into the XI for the resumption of Premier League action.