Arsene Wenger believes that Theo Walcott will recover from his knee ligament injury without any adverse side-effects.
The England international was stretchered off with the problem during the Gunners' 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup third round.
It was then revealed that he had a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee, which has ruled him out for at least six months.
However, despite the seriousness of the injury, Wenger says that Walcott will return to his best.
"I'm convinced. We know deep studies show that the players around 25 with that kind of injury, they come back as normal," Wenger told The Mirror.
"When you are over 30, over 29 you do not ever come back exactly the same. But between 25 and 28 you come back to the level you had before.
"Theo is very strong mentally and level-headed. He deals with it as well as you can do when you are confronted with these kind of situations."
Even though he is confident about his future, Wenger insists that it's important not to rush Walcott's rehabilitation.
"We have enough experience on cruciate [ligament injuries] to know that the minimum time is six months to come back," he added.
The Gunners are currently one point ahead of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.
Gary Peters
