Arsenal: Danny Welbeck wary of pushing to the limit following long injury lay-off

Danny Welbeck has admitted that it is difficult to get back to full match fitness following a long-spell on the sidelines with a knee injury. The English forward made his first appearance of the season during Arsenal's 2-1 win over Leicester City, when he came on as a substitute to score a last gasp winner to keep the Gunners in the Premier League title race.

The appearance against the Foxes was Welbeck's first in over ten months after he suffered a knee injury in the latter stages of last season. He has since made three appearances in the Premier League and Champions League, but has warned against expecting too much as he believes that it takes time to get back to peak form following a lengthy break from the game.

The England international, who believes that he is ahead of schedule in his recovery process, is hoping to remain fit and play a part in the remainder of the season, as the north London club search for their first Premier League title in over a decade. The 25-year-old forward was speaking ahead of the game against Swansea City on Wednesday (2 March), which Arsenal lost 2-1 to make it two league losses in a row and jeopardise their title chances. Arsene Wenger has also admitted that he is taking a cautious approach with regards to Welbeck's participation owing to the proximity of the games in the coming weeks.

"I have been out for a long period of time and it is difficult to come back and just keep jumping into game after game, recovering and then going into the next match after a couple of days," Welbeck said, as quoted by the London Evening Standard.

"It is something that I have got to manage. I am probably a bit ahead of schedule since the surgery so I have got to manage it well, recover right and hopefully I will be fine to play a part in the game," the former Manchester United striker added.