England forward Danny Welbeck will not travel with Arsenal to the Barclays Asia Trophy in Singapore as he continues to recover from the ankle problem which ruled him out of the end of last season, manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed.

The Gunners will take a 27-man squad to the Far East in the first leg of their pre-season preparations, with summer signing Petr Cech joining up with his new team-mates for the first time since a B£10million switch from Chelsea.

Welbeck, though, is to remain in London as he looks to shake off the knee problem which kept him out of the final few weeks of the season, missing both the FA Cup final win over Aston Villa and England's June internationals.

Wenger said on the club's official website, www.arsenal.com: "Welbeck isn't completely recovered from the problem he had. He is not back in full training, so he will stay behind."

Speaking last month, Welbeck indicated there was no serious issue, just needing more time to recover. He said: "It was worse than we first thought it was, but it is just a natural healing period and usually I heal faster than others."

Czech midfielder Tomas Rosicky, who along with captain Mikel Arteta has signed a contract extension, is also not part of the squad for Singapore because of what Wenger describes as a small injury picked up on international duty.

Goalkeeper David Ospina, linked with a move away from the club following Cech's arrival, has been given extra holiday following the Copa America, as has key man Alexis Sanchez, whose penalty in the shoot-out won the final for hosts Chile.

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While the likes of Calum Chambers, who has cut short his time off after the European Under-21s Championships, Chuba Akpom and 18-year-old American Gedion Zelalem will all hope to get some game time on the Asia tour, Carl Jenkinson, Yaya Sanogo and Joel Campbell were not included in the group and appear likely to be sent out on loan for next season.

Arsenal play a Singapore XI on July 15, then are scheduled to face either Everton or Stoke.

The Gunners return to England to host the Emirates Cup on July 25/26 ahead of the FA Community Shield against Chelsea at Wembley on August 2 and will open the new Barclays Premier League campaign with a televised home game against West Ham on Sunday, August 9.

Sanchez is not expected back from holiday until August 3, so would not normally be involved in the Community Shield.

The Chile forward enjoyed a stand-out first campaign in English football following his move from Barcelona after the World Cup, but there remains concerns over player burnout.

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Before the Copa America, Wenger indicated the 26-year-old could well be eased back into action this season following his exploits in Santiago, so just like with Arsenal's World Cup winning Germans, Sanchez may not be involved in the first few domestic matches.

However, the Gunners boss revealed no sooner had the Chile forward chipped in the decisive spot-kick with a Panenka penalty, then his attentions turned back to club matters and ambitions for 2015-16.

"He has shown again that he is scared of nothing. He took the ball and chipped the keeper. It was quite audacious, but I was of course over the moon to see him bring the trophy to a country that has waited for such a long time," Wenger said to Arsenal Player.

"It is an historic achievement and when you're a football player, you want to do that, so I'm very happy for him."

The Arsenal manager added: "I texted him [after the final] and he texted me back. He was already focused on next season with Arsenal and wants to win everything with us. He was thrilled and very happy."