Arsenal received a big boost after Arsene Wenger confirmed that talented midfielder Jack Wilshere had returned to training.
The England international has not played a single game since last year, with his last appearance for Arsenal coming in a preseason friendly against New York Red Bulls in July, 2011.
A serious ankle injury ruled him out for the entire season last year, with the 20-year-old also needing a knee surgery, which in turn, delayed his progress further.
Wenger had said earlier the Arsenal youngster was making good progress, and now revealed he was back in training, but said he would be extremely cautious on how to bring him back to the playing field. "We are so pleased that Jack is back in full training," Wenger told the club's official website. "It's been 14 months and that's a long time for someone at his age.
"It's an eternity, but it's great news.
"We have to give him a few training sessions to see how he copes and responds to it.
"That's the delicate, sensitive stage -- to choose when to bring him in and out. We'll have to handle that day-by-day."
Arsenal posted pictures of Wilshere's return to training on their website, while confirming that another youngster Emmanuel Frimpong had started training this week. Frimpong has been out for over six months, after suffering a cruciate ligament injury while on loan with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
"We also have Emmanuel Frimpong who has returned to full training this week, which is great news as well," Wenger added. "Emmanuel has also been out a long time, but is progressing well."
The news of Wilshere, in particular, will come as music to Arsenal fans' ears, after the box-to-box midfielder had a brilliant campaign a couple of seasons ago. Wenger sees the midfielder as a future captain, and handed him the No. 10 shirt, despite being injured at the time, after Robin Van Persie left the Gunners for Manchester United.
While the Arsenal midfield has coped well without the services of Wilshere this season, the return of one of England's most talented players will help the Gunners mount a sustained challenge to the English Premier League title.
Arsenal will look to continue their good start to the English Premier League season, when they visit Manchester City on Sunday.