Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has offered an encouraging round of injury news as his side prepare for their Premier League trip to face Nottingham Forest at the City Ground this weekend.

Martin Zubimendi was absent for Arsenal's Champions League victory over Lille in midweek after sustaining an ankle injury during a training session held immediately after the club's win over Leeds United. It later emerged that teammate Mikel Merino was inadvertently involved in the incident, which occurred during a small-sided game at the Emirates Stadium and was described as a freak accident.

Scans conducted on Monday showed that the injury is not serious, and Arteta is expected to make a late call on the Spanish midfielder's availability for the Forest fixture. "Zubi looks much better and we have another session tomorrow," Arteta said at his pre-match press conference on Friday. "After that, we will assess whether he's available for Forest."

The same training session also produced a worrying moment for defender Piero Hincapie, who appeared to suffer a more serious ankle problem and had to be carried off the pitch by goalkeeper Illan Meslier. Initial expectations were that the Ecuadorian would be sidelined for several weeks, putting him in doubt for the upcoming matches against both Forest and Bayern Munich.

However, Arteta struck an optimistic tone regarding Hincapie's recovery. "Piero is evolving really well," the Arsenal boss said. "Knowing his character and the way he pushes, I'm sure it's not going to take long. But he will need probably another week or two."

Hincapie himself expressed hope that he could return to action before the next international break, though he was cautious about setting a firm timeline. "I'm very hopeful. But we have to see how this goes," the defender said.

Arteta also addressed the situation surrounding winger Christos Tzolis, who has been out with a hamstring injury suffered while on international duty with Greece. The Arsenal boss indicated that the winger is making solid progress toward a return. "He's doing really well," Arteta said. "Yesterday, he had another MRI scan. He's progressing really well, another one that hopefully we can have back in a few weeks."

Perhaps the most significant long-term update concerned William Saliba, who has yet to feature for Arsenal this season as he continues his recovery from a serious back injury sustained at the World Cup. The defender has recently begun working individually on the training pitch as part of his rehabilitation, and Arteta confirmed that another scan is scheduled for the coming days.

"Next week, we have another MRI with him to see how the healing process is at the moment," Arteta explained. "Every sign so far has been very, very positive. It will be great to have him."

With a demanding run of fixtures ahead, including the trip to Forest followed by a Champions League clash against Bayern Munich, Arteta will be hoping that his squad's depth and fitness continue to improve. While Zubimendi's potential return offers a timely boost, the club appears content to take a patient approach with Hincapie, Tzolis and Saliba as each works his way back from injury over the coming weeks.

Based on reporting from Standard Football.