London (AFP) – Alexis Sanchez finally returned to training with Arsenal on Tuesday amid persistent speculation the Chile forward is keen to leave the Gunners.
Sanchez missed Arsenal’s pre-season tour of Australia and China, as well as last weekend’s Emirates Cup tournament, as he rested following international duty at the Confederations Cup.
The 28-year-old was due to resume training with his Arsenal team-mates on Sunday, but he was unable to fly back to London until Tuesday after going down with the flu.
Some cynical Arsenal fans feared Sanchez’s illness was a ruse to further distance himself from the Premier League club as he weighs up whether to push for a transfer.
Sanchez is in the final year of his Arsenal contract and his decision not to accept boss Arsene Wenger’s offer of a lucrative new deal has sparked interest from Manchester City, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Juventus.
With FA Cup holders Arsenal due to face champions Chelsea in the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday, Sanchez has now rejoined his team-mates at their London Colney headquarters.
Just hours after posting a picture on social media of himself and his dogs next to a private jet, Sanchez added a photo of him running and wrote: “Back to training.”
Speaking over the weekend, Wenger had said he would have to check on Sanchez’s fitness before deciding whether to include the former Barcelona star against Chelsea.
Sanchez is scheduled to be at the Arsenal members open training session at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday.
Arsenal start their Premier League campaign against Leicester City on August 11.
