He was operated on at the end of April and received further treatment on his knee in St Raphael in the south of France before returning to England six weeks ago.

He has been training with Arsenal's first team for a few weeks and Wenger is delighted with the progress made by the midfielder.

"I think he will be back in three weeks, as far as his physical condition is concerned he is ready, he could play now," Wenger told www.lequipe.fr.

"But I am not making him play because the doctor asked me to respect the six-month deadline imposed by that type of injury.

"I have only three weeks left to wait. He is better and better but it is necessary to be patient and wait for the medical go-ahead."