Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus is having to hold himself back as he closes in on a return from the “biggest injury” of his career.
Jesus ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in January and was forced to undergo surgery.
The injury came at a cruel time for the Brazilian, who had scored six goals in seven games before being struck down.
Jesus is entering the final stages of his comeback and hopes to be back soon - but he will not rush the last few steps.
“I’m feeling great,” he said. “My knee is responding very well. So now I’m looking forward to being around the team again soon, to come back to do what I love to do.
“It’s been too long. An injury like this, one that is so long, you split up the recovery periods into smaller timings.
“So now I’m at the stage where I need to hold myself back a little bit, because I’m doing great work outside on the pitches, but it’s tricky because I need to not rush myself too hard over the line.
“When you can see the end it’s important you don’t push too hard, keep my feet on the floor, and then as soon as the time comes, I will be ready.”
Jesus has explained how the injury has been tough to deal with mentally, because of the work he was doing off the pitch prior to it.
The 28-year-old says he was “living my best moment outside the pitch” - and has that made being ruled out for so long that much harder to take.
“I always believe in myself,” Jesus said. “I’ve had a few tough moments since I arrived here, but also I had great moments here as well, where I was playing a lot and in good shape.
“Even in games when I wasn’t scoring I was opening space and running in behind. But unfortunately I picked up some injuries, and we cannot control that.
“But this one is the biggest injury I’ve had in my life, and it came when I was living my best moment outside the pitch.
“By that I mean I was preparing well, feeling chilled, eating good, sleeping well, recovering well and then it happens. So that’s why I say that we couldn’t expect it.
“So now I know that it’s never enough. You know, you need to look after yourself even more. You have to be clever to be able to play all the season.
“That’s what I think now, I need to control training, because I’m a player who always goes outside and gives 100 per cent. If you don’t control it properly, it can be a problem.”
Jesus is itching to get back as he wants to be part of the Brazil squad for next summer’s World Cup.
He played at the last two tournaments and hopes he can be part of Carlo Ancelotti’s plans.
“Of course I would love to be there for a third,” he told Arsenal’s match-day programme.
“But it’s not easy. We have great players, an amazing squad, and it’s only a short period until the World Cup.
“There is not a lot of time there, but I trust in myself. As soon as I start playing again I will do my best to get involved.”
