LONDON -- Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said striker Danny Welbeck is not close to a return to the first team.
Welbeck, 24, has been sidelined with a knee injury since the end of last season, having joined Arsenal from Manchester United last summer.
"He is not close [to a return] because he has not started full training," Wenger said of Welbeck at his prematch news conference ahead of Sunday's trip to Crystal Palace. "I would say he is at least three weeks from today."
There is more positive news about Jack Wilshere, who is recovering from a hairline crack to his left fibula.
"Jack is back in training, but we said at the start that it would be six to eight weeks. We think it will be three to four so that is quite positive," Wenger said.
"I always bring him back when he says he is ready and our fitness coaches tell me he has the quantity of work behind him. It comes back to a relationship between the fitness people and that is confirmed by what we see in training.
"We never rushed him. Maybe when he was younger we overplayed him sometimes because he was such a good player, but now we are quite cautious with him."
Meanwhile, Wenger has backed Petr Cech to bounce back from his difficult Premier League debut for the Gunners.
Cech was criticised for his performance as West Ham beat Arsenal 2-0 at Emirates Stadium last weekend, but the Arsenal boss is convinced the keeper he signed from Chelsea will recover.
"Like any great keeper, he stood up for what happened to him and he will focus on the next one," Wenger said. "He has great experience and analyses it well. He is a great player, a bright man. It is down to how well he responds to that.
"Maybe he wanted to save the team in the situation where our defending was not great. He will be fine."
Wenger was also asked about the situation at Chelsea whereby first-team doctor Eva Carneiro has had her role with the club reduced in the wake of criticism by Jose Mourinho, according to ESPN FC sources.
"It is a problem inside the club. Football is difficult enough and if you are not united, it is more difficult. Unity inside a club makes the strength," he added.
"I have not followed that story at Chelsea, but I have not followed that. Firstly you will know I don't have a great interest in what is going on at Chelsea, but secondly the rules are clear. When a referee gives an indication that medical comes on, they come on. The referee makes the decision."