Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Gilberto will miss the start of the coming season as he recovers from his Copa America exertions.
As such, Gilberto is due to return to North London just five days before The Gunners' opening game of the Premier League season at home to Fulham on August 12th.
Having had little in the way of pre-season conditioning, Wenger is unwilling to throw his second-longest serving player into the breach immediately.
"He will miss the start of the season," confirmed Wenger. "He is on a three-week holiday and will be back with us on August 7th."