Premier League giants Arsenal have been afforded a boost on the personnel front, amid the club's ongoing preparations for the new season.

This comes with summer addition Fabio Vieira, it would seem, inching towards a return to full fitness.

Portuguese youth international Vieira, of course, opted to take his talents to the red half of north London late last month.

In something of a bolt from the blue, the powers that be at Arsenal swooped to tie up a deal for the now-former Porto standout, who is expected to play a key role in Mikel Arteta's squad from next season on.

In turn, upon word coming to the fore last week that Vieira - who is yet to even take part in his first training session with his new club - had been spotted wearing protective footwear, concern inevitably began to spread across Arsenal's fanbase.

This came with it later revealed that the midfielder was dealing with a minor foot issue.

As alluded to above, though, if the latest word stemming from the Arsenal camp on Thursday is anything to go by, then Vieira is seemingly closing on a return to full fitness.

As showcased in the image below, the 22-year-old was today spotted linking up with the rest of Mikel Arteta's squad in Germany.

This comes with the Gunners primed to return to action on Friday, in a friendly meeting with Nurnberg.

Even more significant, though, is the fact that Vieira did not appear to be sporting any form of protective footwear on his previously injured left foot.


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