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Lucas Torreira appears to have taken an encouraging step to get back in shape for the fractured ankle he suffered in March, with Arsenal posting a video of him running quite comfortably.
Taking quite literal steps on his way to recovery, this runs in line with the time scale he set on his return when he recovered from the injury. Initially, it was thought to take eight to 10 weeks to recover from expert physician Dr. Rajpal Brar and he said, “Lucas may be ready by mid-May,” in early March.
“That said, their rehabilitation and return process may take longer than normal due to quarantine restrictions and limited access to medical and training personnel.”
Initially, that would have ended his 2019/20 campaign, but with forced rest due to the pandemic, Torreira has a chance to improve his fitness and possibly return in June when the Premier League has a chance to resume.
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Having a month to be as close to adjustment as possible under the current circumstances, the question will arise as to where you are on the current team. It may not be in the first week after the games return, but since it already runs comfortably, unless it suffers a setback, it will most likely be available for Arteta in mid-June.
Although he has become a fan favorite since his arrival last summer, and many believe he would enter the starting lineups across the country, his situation will not be as black and white, and it was not when he was fit. Despite being a unique player in Mikel Arteta’s midfield body, before soccer stopped, the Spanish had dropped Torreira for Dani Ceballos.
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In fact, in all six games between the February winter break and Arsenal’s last game against West Ham [on March 7], Ceballos started four games while Torreira was injured in the only game he started [away to Portsmouth] and was replaced by Spanish in 16 minutes.
When Premier League football returns, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Arteta chooses to keep Ceballos and Granit Xhaka’s double pivot in tact.
As reported by football.london Last week, Raul Sanllehi described that there will be room for clubs to offer short-term extensions for them to complete 2019/20 in their In the Arsenal fan forum and knowing this, Ceballos and Arteta will want to resume where they left off in March. Especially since the 23-year-old’s last performance was arguably the best in an Arsenal jersey, really setting the tone by making the most touches, passes, last final passes, recoveries, interceptions and tackles against West Ham.
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This ability to marry the creative and destructive sides of the game is what really set Ceballos de Torreira apart in those last few weeks and should not be forgotten once the latter gets back into shape. Ceballos was taking the side for real merit and that’s how it should stay when the Premier League returns.
Torreira is exceptional in his job of protecting the last four, as Arteta discovered early in his tenure, but looking specifically at him, he doesn’t have the same impact as Ceballos in the middle of the opposition camp, which he demonstrated with Unai Emery early in this season. He has a good pace to move forward, but in terms of finding and executing the right passes, Ceballos is far superior.
Looking specifically at this aspect of their respective games, Ceballos was key to Arsenal finding some balance in their attack. He hadn’t completely solved it, but the way he constantly sought to free Nicolas Pepe and Héctor Bellerin from the right helped lay the groundwork for the Gunners to become much less dependent on their left-side players, as discussed in more detail here.
With this in mind and the fact that Torreira is coming back from a relatively serious injury, treating him as a second option for Ceballos would not be the end of the world. Rather than pressuring him to come back and rush to the ground to return to the starting lineup, this could be an opportunity to prepare him for the 2020/21 campaign, not only physically but also in terms of Arteta’s demands.
Of course, the results will be the most important, but Arteta has shown in his short time in charge that he can make small adjustments to people’s play styles.
Granit Xhaka and David Luiz are the key examples in this case, since instead of turning them into non-players, the Spanish simply laser-focused each of his games on what he considered most important. Instead of trying to make Torreira a carbon copy of Ceballos, which Emery sometimes seemed to be trying, focusing on certain aspects, such as overlooking the field, he can get better results when the Uruguayan intervenes.
Torreira is not a bad player, far from it, but this block of games may be better at finding out exactly what his purpose is in Arteta’s midfield for the coming seasons. That way, preparing for the 2020/21 season and the types of players who may or may not need to be chased in midfield would become much clearer.
Either way, taking the energy ball that is Torreira one step closer to making a full recovery is something that will cheer the Gunners even further with the possible return of the Premier League in June.
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