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Premier League: Arsenal's Theo Walcott not pushing recovery from injury too hard

Theo Walcott: Delighted to make his Arsenal comeback
Image: Theo Walcott: Not setting huge targets as he steps up return

Arsenal forward Theo Walcott is not setting any ambitious goals as he plots a course towards full fitness.

Walcott made his first start in a year against Hull City in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday and showed a fair bit of rust after the longest lay-off of his career.

The England international suffered a serious knee injury last summer, an injury that wrecked his chances of going to the World Cup, and he was then sidelined by a groin problem in November after having returned to action with a couple of appearances off the bench.

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Walcott's rehabilitation is almost complete now but he feels he is better off setting himself small targets rather than leaping in and expecting to be playing at a high level straight away.

"I like to work week by week, so I forget about the big picture and the nine months (out). Week by week, hitting the goals and when you have achieved that, you can feel good about hitting something else," Walcott said on Arsenal Player.

"You need to just come into training with a smile on your face, enjoy it and that's all you can do.

"I remember when I had one of my injuries before, I came in down in the dumps and rehab seemed to take so much longer.

"You don't want that, you want to come in and feel like you're doing something each day.

"Even though it might be the same things at the start, you benefit when it comes to the end of it."

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