Arsenal midfielder Gedion Zelalem's injury recovery is ahead of schedule.

Jeorge Bird's Arsenal Youth reports Zelalem has started the long road to recovery from his anterior cruciate ligament injury.

The 20-year-old suffered the blow while representing the United States at the U20 World Cup in May and was initially ruled out for around nine months.

However, Zelalem appears to be ahead of schedule in his recovery from injury as last Friday he was back running again for the first time on an anti-gravity treadmill, suggesting that he could return to action before the end of 2017.

The US international spent last season on-loan VVV Venlo.