Arsenal delighted to have Kieran Tierney back from injury

Scotland defender Kieran Tierney has made his return to the field after a five-month injury layoff, having been included in Arsenal’s first-team squad for the Champions League match against Sporting on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old has been unavailable since June due to a hamstring injury sustained during a match against Switzerland at Euro 2024, but he has not been favored by manager Mikel Arteta since the summer of 2023.

The Spanish manager spoke at a media conference in Lisbon on Monday: “We have Kieran Tierney with us after a long injury.”It’s great news that he is back. He’s been training with us and he is available to participate.”

Tierney has not participated in any matches for Arsenal since coming on as a substitute during their penalty shoot-out win in the Community Shield against Manchester City following a 1-1 draw in August 2023.

After losing his spot in the starting lineup, he was loaned to Real Sociedad for the remainder of the season, where he made 26 appearances for the La Liga team, but he is still contracted with Arsenal until 2026.

Due to his most recent injury, Tierney has been absent from seven Scotland matches, including all of their Nations League group matches.

The announcement of his recovery comes just two days after Scotland goalkeeper Angus Gunn returned to action for Norwich City after missing six club games and four international matches.

The 28-year-old contributed to the Canaries achieving a 2-2 draw away against West Bromwich Albion in the Championship after recovering from a rib injury.

Scotland is set to face Greece in a double-header play-off in March as they strive to maintain their position in League A.