Arsenal's injury woes have been well documented in recent weeks but Mikel Arteta will finally welcome back one crucial player to the squad against Leicester City on Saturday.

Ben White has been unavailable since undergoing knee surgery at the beginning of November but is expected to be named in the squad this weekend. The 27-year-old has been a regular under Arteta since making the £50million move from Brighton & Hove Albion in 2021 and his absence at right-back has been felt these past few months.

The Englishman has been training for a number of weeks now and was part of the squad which travelled to Dubai for the warm-weather training camp last week. Asked if White will return to the squad this weekend, Arteta said in his pre-match press conference: "Yeah, Ben has been training more regularly now so we have to still manage a lot his load. But he's going to be able to do it, yes."

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Jurrien Timber, who has done a fine job at right-back in White's absence, is expected to start against the Foxes but we may well see White make his long-awaited return, perhaps as a second half substitute. Elsewhere, Arteta admitted that Kai Havertz's hamstring injury picked up in Dubai is a "big blow". The German requires surgery on the issue and will play no further part this season.

"Yeah, so we were having a great camp in Dubai, recharging, training, having some time off and connecting again with nature and a different environment. And then the injury happened in a very unexpected way, certainly," Arteta said. "So it's a big blow, obviously, because of the injuries that we have. But fortunately, we've been through a lot this season."

Arteta also provided an update on Bukayo Saka on Friday, who has been out with a hamstring injury since December. The Hale Ender is not expected to make his return until at least next month, perhaps even April. Asked if he would be tempted to rush the winger back, Arteta said: "Well, I don't know. We have a long-term injury. What is faster? In a 10-day injury, three days is a lot because it's 30 per cent. In three months, a week, probably is not that much.

"But it's too early. It's an average stage of the rehab when we get a little bit closer and he starts to do more demanding stuff and more load, we will see where he is." Asked to clarify if there had been any setback, the Spaniard added: "No, it's fine."

Gabriel Martinelli remains out after injuring his hamstring against Newcastle earlier this month, while Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu are the other long term absentees. That means, when looking at the official Arsenal website, the Gunners have 17 senior players available for selection for the game vs Leicester. As per Premier League rules, a club is allowed to name a squad of 20 players for a Premier League match.

Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly, who are classed as Arsenal Academy players on the Gunners official website, have been included in most matchday squads this season and could start from the off on Saturday afternoon. There could also be a call-up for academy forward Nathan Butler-Oyedeji, given Jesus and Havertz are both unavailable. The 22-year-old, who can operate on the left wing and as a striker, has scored eight goals and assisted a further six in 13 games for Arsenal U21s this season.

Possible Arsenal squad for Leicester: Raya, Neto; Timber, White, Gabriel, Kiwior, Calafiori, Zinchenko, Saliba, Lewis-Skelly, Tierney; Rice, Jorginho, Partey, Merino, Odegaard, Nwaneri; Trossard, Sterling, Butler-Oyedeji

Senior players unavailable for Leicester: Tomiyasu (knee injury), Saka (hamstring injury), Jesus (knee injury), Havertz (hamstring injury), Martinelli (hamstring injury)