Arsenal captain Koscielny begins comeback from Achilles injury

Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny has made his return from nearly seven months out with an Achilles injury.

The centre-back played 45 minutes for Arsenal’s Under-23 side in a game against Derby County on Monday.

Koscielny has not played for Arsenal since early May after rupturing his tendon in the Europa League semi-final against Atletico Madrid.

That injury immediately ruled Koscielny out of the World Cup, France triumphing at Russia 2018 in the 33-year-old’s absence.

But the defender could soon make his long-awaited comeback after featuring at Loughborough University Stadium, where Arsenal went down 5-0 to the Rams, with four of those five goals coming after Koscielny had been replaced.

The game saw three red cards, with George Thorne sent off for Derby while Arsenal duo Jordi Osei-Tutu and Daniel Ballard were also dismissed.

minutes of #AFCU23 action for our captain tonight 

Welcome back, @6_LKOSCIELNY  pic.twitter.com/2FfZdGZgtN

— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) November 26, 2018