LONDON (AFP) - Sol Campbell will play his first game since Euro 2004 when he turns out for Arsenal's reserves on Monday and could be back in first-team action for next weekend's visit to Manchester City.
The England centre-half has missed the start of the season with an Achilles injury which manager Arsene Wenger said Friday had finally healed.
"I don't know if I will put him in for the game at Manchester City, I shall wait and see," Wenger said. "But the last game he played was for England which was quite a while ago so he is hungry to get back."
Wenger said Campbell would have risked further damage if he had played on with the injury and admitted he was unhappy not to have been informed about the injury by England's medical staff when it happened.
"There was a tear in the Achilles and I believe that had we not taken the problem seriously it could have become chronic," said Wenger. "That is why we decided to stop him because if he'd played with it he could have had pain all season."