On January 23 local time, The Athletic argued that Kai Havertz’s situation at Arsenal this season centers around a “cautious return.”
After suffering complex injuries that kept him sidelined for nearly a year, the club has implemented strict load management to avoid re-injury. Arsenal hopes he can gradually regain match fitness under safe conditions and views him as one of the potential solutions for the No. 9 position.
Below is TA’s analysis.
Havertz is back—but only sort of.
Since sustaining a knee injury in the Premier League opener against Manchester United last August, the Arsenal forward has remained unavailable. He only returned to the matchday squad on December 30 in the league game against Aston Villa, but solely as a substitute.
However, in that match and in Arsenal’s subsequent four fixtures across the Premier League and Champions League, Havertz did not play even a single minute. His only official appearances this season have come in domestic cup competitions:
the FA Cup away against Championship side Portsmouth, where he came on as a substitute for 21 minutes;
and the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final away at Chelsea, where he played eight minutes.
This is clearly an extremely cautious approach to his return. Arsenal is adopting a highly protective strategy toward a player who has missed almost an entire year of competitive action.
That’s because Havertz isn’t recovering from just one injury—but two.
The 26-year-old suffered a severe hamstring injury in February last year, serious enough to require surgery, which caused him to miss most of the remainder of the season, with only a potential late-season comeback on the horizon. Consequently, he has made just five Premier League appearances over the past 12 months.
Arsenal is clearly determined to proceed slowly with his return. The club fully understands that any significant setback now could jeopardize the German international’s availability for the most critical phase of the season.
“He’s very close to returning,” manager Mikel Arteta said at Friday’s press conference. “He’s been out for a very, very long time—almost a year—for various reasons. Now, we must be extremely smart in managing his physical load and playing time. I’m certain he’ll get opportunities in the coming weeks, but I can’t say exactly in which competition or when, as it also depends on the specific context of each match—whether it’s suitable to use him in that situation and whether his technical qualities can make a positive impact.”
Arsenal certainly hopes to reintegrate Havertz into match rhythm as quickly as possible while ensuring his safety. Internally, the club sees him as a potential long-term answer to their persistent No. 9 problem—his profile blending Gyokeres’ physicality with Jesus’ link-up play.
If Havertz can prove his physical readiness, there’s undoubtedly a place for him in that role.
But the question remains: what level of expectation for him over the remainder of this season would be reasonable?
This has indeed been a cruel blow. Since making his senior debut for Bayer Leverkusen in 2016, Havertz had never previously suffered a major injury—yet within just a few months, he endured two serious setbacks. Following hamstring surgery, he then suffered a knee issue in August, sidelining him once again.
At the time, Arsenal publicly downplayed the severity of the injury.
“I think it’s a matter of a few weeks, but I’m not sure exactly how long,” Arteta said at a September press conference.
In reality, the situation proved far more complicated.
Medical assessments revealed a notably complex knee injury. Arsenal reacted with high caution—even signing Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace for £60 million less than a week after the Manchester United match, a player they hadn’t originally planned to sign that summer. Ultimately, Havertz spent four full months outside the first-team matchday squad.
“It’s happened,” Arteta told reporters on Friday. “Every career goes through at least one such phase. He’s come through it. This experience has given him greater awareness—not just about football, but about his own body—and perhaps made him realize more clearly how difficult it feels when football no longer occupies most of your life. Right now, he looks genuinely, genuinely eager to play. I’m sure you’ll see a Havertz in excellent form.”
After such a prolonged absence, Arsenal is carefully guiding him back to match fitness.
It’s an iterative process: gradually increasing physical load while monitoring his body’s response. Some degree of reaction—such as swelling or discomfort—is almost inevitable; the key lies in proper management. Recovery from injury is never a straight line.
Thus, Havertz was left out of the matchday squad for the January 3 game against Bournemouth—even though he’d been on the bench just four days earlier against Villa—as part of this cautious load management.
“After a long layoff, the crucial part isn’t just the moment you return to the team,” Arteta added, “but how you manage the next six to eight weeks. We want to handle this period well before progressively ramping up intensity. When those truly important matches arrive later in the season, we need everyone—mentally and physically—at their best.”
There’s no doubt Arsenal misses Havertz deeply. Arteta had hoped to have him available during the tough early-season schedule, which would have also given new signing Gyokeres more time to adapt to English football.
The manager also hinted that once fully fit, Havertz could feature in different positions: “We can use him in various roles—you’ll see.”
Indeed, in last week’s cup match against Chelsea, Havertz came on as a substitute in an attacking midfield role, confirming this possibility.
Neither Gyokeres nor Jesus has delivered fully convincing performances at center-forward this season, so naturally, Arsenal fans are turning their hopes toward the German.
Yet given the severity of his knee injury and the fact that he has barely played any structured football throughout 2025, it would be neither fair nor realistic to immediately burden him with the responsibility of being the offensive focal point. Meanwhile, the recent upturn in form from both Gyokeres and Jesus—who both scored in Tuesday’s Champions League away win over Inter Milan—has somewhat eased that urgency.
For Havertz, this is a pivotal year.
The World Cup will take place in June and July, and the race for Germany’s starting No. 9 remains open. By this summer, only two years will remain on his current contract with Arsenal—a typical juncture when clubs must decide whether to extend or sell a player.
How he returns and whether he can truly demonstrate his physical reliability will directly influence those discussions.
Motivation is certainly not lacking. Arsenal appears poised to push for major honors in the final weeks of the season.
It is precisely because of this crucial sprint to the finish that the club has crafted such a meticulous return plan for him.
Because by then, what Arsenal needs—and wants most—is a healthy, reliable Kai Havertz.