Arsenal given Piero Hincapie Premier League debut boost

Arsenal’s summer addition, Piero Hincapie, has so far played just single-digit minutes for the Gunners. He came on as a late substitute in the 2-0 win over Athletic Club in the Champions League but has not been seen since.

It has since been confirmed that the Ecuadorian suffered a minor groin issue. The defender had undergone surgery at the end of the previous season while still a Bayer Leverkusen player andclearly is still feeling the effects of his recovery.

“He will be available after the international break,” Arteta said. “We've been trying to do everything as fast as possible, but this came too fast, and now we have the international break, and hopefully after that, he will have a couple of sessions with the team and [be] ready to go.”

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Hincapie played in both of Ecuador’s games in the September international break, which could have perhaps been a root cause of the groin issue he would suffer. He returned late from duty with the South American side playing in the early hours of Wednesday morning (European time) before then flying the long journey to north London.

The benefit Arsenal have now is that with Hincapie missing out on international duty, he has been able to finalise the last steps of his rehabilitation back in London Colney. Working with the specialists at the Sobha Realty Training Centre, he will be targeting the matches with Fulham, Atletico Madrid and Crystal Palace to make a return as Arteta says.

Furthermore, Ecuador’s final match takes place in the early hours of Wednesday morning (3:30am UK time) in Guadalajara as they face Mexico in a match being tipped to be something of a test for the Estadio Akron, one of the arenas being utilised for the World Cup. The infrastructure will be tested ahead of next year’s tournament.

If Hincapie had been involved, he would have had a long flight and returned late on Wednesday in London, before having just Thursday and Friday to get ready for the trip to Fulham. Instead, he can focus on recovery with his club and potentially be in a better position to fight for a place in the matchday squad.

If Fulham comes too soon, as mentioned, the clash with Atletico Madrid in the Champions League will follow. A team that were keen on the defender in a transfer sense, much to do with the Gunners’ sporting director Andrea Berta coming from the Spanish capital club.