Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is keeping his fingers crossed that Jorginho will be fit to return to action before the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
The Italy international was initially expected to miss the rest of the season with the freak chest injury he suffered in Arsenal's 1-1 Premier League draw with Brentford a couple of weeks ago.
Jorginho sitting out the remainder of the campaign would have also meant a premature end to his Arsenal career, as the ex-Chelsea man is expected to depart for Flamengo when his contract expires this summer.
However, speaking ahead of Saturday's Premier League showdown with Bournemouth, Arteta expressed hope that Jorginho could be seen in an Arsenal shirt again, even if his issue was more complex than first thought.
"Jorginho's got a bit more complicated than expected. Thankfully, he's fine, he's feeling good, he's recovering well, but yeah, it was a bit more than what we wanted. I think I'll leave it to the doctor if he wants to clarify or judge that," Arteta told the press.
Arteta provides positive updates on Jorginho, Kai Havertz fitness
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Jorginho was a big miss in Tuesday's 1-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final, as Arteta also had to work around the absence of the suspended Thomas Partey.
The Ghana international is now back, well-rested and raring to go for Saturday evening's visit of the Cherries, but the same cannot be said for several of his teammates, including Riccardo Calafiori.
Arteta admitted that the Italian defender's knee issue was still giving him grief, while Takehiro Tomiyasu, Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz remain out of contention too.
However, the Arsenal boss already stressed earlier this month that Havertz could be back from his hamstring operation before the season concludes, and he doubled down on that claim on Friday.
Asked if there was still the possibility that the German would be back this month, Arteta replied: "I think so. I think if everything goes the way it's going at the moment and the way it's planned, I think he will have a chance to play a few games here in the season."
What Arsenal changes could Arteta make against Bournemouth?
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The schedule has been relatively kind to Arsenal in terms of where this game lies either side of two pivotal PSG clashes, which take place four days either side of the visit of the Cherries in a Tuesday-Saturday-Wednesday order.
Had the Gunners been forced to navigate a Wednesday-Saturday-Tuesday turnaround, there would be many more tired legs in the camp, but Arteta can certainly afford to go relatively strong on Saturday.
However, a few changes may be foot, particularly in the full-back areas as Ben White, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney all seek to come in for Jurrien Timber and Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Partey's return to the base of the midfield could also see Mikel Merino shifted up front, potentially forcing one of Leandro Trossard or Gabriel Martinelli out of the XI at the same time.
Finally, Ethan Nwaneri is a prime candidate to replace either Martin Odegaard or Bukayo Saka, the former of whom came in for criticism after his anonymous display in midweek.
Ben Knapton
