[goldenHuddlestone]

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said Cesc Fabregas will not be rushed back to action and that no date has been set for his return.

Fabregas has missed Arsenal's last three Premier League fixtures and will sit out their final Champions League Group H game with Steaua Bucharest at the Emirates tonight with a hamstring injury.

Arsenal have stuttered during Fabregas' absence. They were held to a 1-1 draw at Newcastle last week and lost their unbeaten league record at Middlesbrough on Sunday.

The league leaders will be desperate to have the 20-year-old back for the visit of Chelsea this weekend but no guarantees have been made on whether he is likely to be fit.

"Cesc is very impatient, but he is not back yet," Wenger said. "We haven't set any date for his return.

"Cesc is not with the group at all. He is with the medical people being treated. He is working very hard."

While Arsenal have been without Fabregas, who has scored 11 goals in all competitions this season, they have also had several other players on the treatment table, including Alex Hleb and Mathieu Flamini.

There is better news concerning Robin van Persie who will make his return from a knee injury against Bucharest, while Abou Diaby has recovered from a back problem.

Jens Lehmann is in line to make his first appearnace in nearly four months for Arsenal tonight, while Wenger, who will serve a one-match touchline ban for his sending off away to Sevilla, is likely to draft in Nicklas Bendtner to the attack.

"Every time I get my chance I want to take it, to show people what I can do," said 19-year-old Bendtner, who scored his first European goal in the 7-0 rout of Slavia Prague in October.

"When you are in a team which plays such great football like Arsenal, it is really difficult to get into the side, but when your chance comes you have to show you are capable of coming in and playing in the team."

[MrGreen]

Now Fabregas is a quality player and will be crucial to Arsenals chances of winning the title i would say.