London, Dec 18 (IANS): Injured Germany and Arsenal footballer Mesut Ozil said Thursday that "it won't be too much longer" before he comes back from a knee injury.

In an interview published on the club's website, the 26-year-old Ozil said that he was on schedule to return to action early next year, reports Xinhua.

"I’m working every day to get myself fit and I’m on the right path now. It won’t be much too much longer before I’m back on the pitch. I hope to be back training with the whole team again as soon as possible," he said Wednesday.

The playmaker had suffered a partial rupture of the outer band of the left knee joint during the match against title rivals Chelsea Oct 5. He has since undergone an extensive rehabilitation programme and was pictured training at Arsenal's Hertfordshire training centre last week.

Ozil admitted he is craving to play after being on the sidelines for 10 weeks.

"After a time, you really miss playing football. You miss the ball and just want to play. When you watch the games and think that you could have been playing, and playing well, it makes you miss it. But that’s the way things are."

Arsenal are currently in sixth place in the English Premier League and will play against Liverpool Sunday.