Neymar and Vinicius Junior were among thousands to send Gabriel Jesus messages of support following his return from injury at the weekend.
Neymar was delighted to see Gabriel Jesus finally make his return from injury in Arsenal‘s win over Fulham. The Gunners striker suffered medial ligament damage against Cameroon while on international duty for Brazil at the World Cup.
Jesus later returned to London for surgery on his knee before being enrolled on a lengthy rehabilitation program back at London Colney.
The Brazilian was expected to make his return in late February after a conversation with UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov, where he detailed his progress, was caught on camera. After eight weeks on the sidelines, Jesus began individual training on grass outside and now that he’s back, Mikel Arteta’s side have been handed a huge boost in the final two months of the Premier League title race.
And, Neymar is just as pleased as anybody else to see the striker return. After the win over Fulham, Jesus took to Instagram to celebrate his journey and the Paris Saint-Germain star was among the likes of Martin Odegaard and William Saliba who flooded the comment section with messages of support.
In a short but simple reply, Neymar posted a red heart emoji under Jesus’ post. Vinicius Junior, who also commented under the post, claimed he is ‘happy as hell’ to see his fellow countryman back on the pitch.
In the post-match press conference, Arteta heaped praise on Jesus and revealed just how important he is to the club’s title hopes this season. The Spaniard said: “[It’s a] Big boost. The first step today. We didn’t know if it was the right game today.
“He said to me a few days ago ‘I’m still missing something’. Yesterday I looked in his eyes and he said. ‘I’m ready’. I said. ‘OK!’ So then we had the opportunity to throw him in.
“It’s that first step to give him the big boost. He looks free, he looks ready and straight away he generated those two big chances. It’s great to have him back.”
The Arsenal boss was seen enjoying a brief chat with Jesus upon the final whistle at Craven Cottage. Revealing the words exchanged, Arteta said: “He was so happy. He put a lot into the last few months and all the staff had spent hours together to try to fulfil all his needs.
“He wanted more and more and more, he was very willing to get back. To see him there with a smile on his face was a joy, I was really happy for him.”
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