The boss admits the Reds will take every precaution to ensure the striker enjoys an injury-free campaign but has not ruled him out of featuring against the Gunners just yet.
"He's only been back a few days and needs to do a lot of work to make sure he recovers from his holiday and the injury he picked up at the World Cup," Hodgson told reporters at Melwood.
"We won't risk him (against Rabotnicki) but we are still hopeful that, come the Arsenal game, it won't be out of the question to use him then - though I do realise the sports science people may tell me it's still too early."
He added: "We believe he wasn't fully fit going into the World Cup and that may have affected his performance and been the cause of the injury he picked up at the end, so we want to be careful this year to make certain that we prepare him - not just for August 15 but for the whole season."
Next up, Liverpool face FK Rabotnicki in the second-leg of their Europa League third qualifying round tie on Thursday night.
A young Reds side secured a 2-0 victory in Skopje to put them firmly in control but Hodgson revealed that he is likely to field a more experienced line-up at Anfield.
"We'll play the strongest team that's possible to put out," he said.
"We are stronger on paper than in the first game because players I couldn't consider for that game have now played at least 45 minutes against Borussia Moenchengladbach on Sunday.
"That gives me a chance to throw them into the game. One or two are just back from holiday, so we won't risk them, but we will have a stronger squad on paper than the one we took to Skopje.
"So yes, if they are senior players and they have been training with us for the past week or so - and the medical people are confident it won't prejudice their future, then we will use them."
Asked about speculation linking Liverpool with a variety of names over the past few days, Hodgson said: "There are lots of players being linked with us, but that's part of being manager of a big club. Agents of big players are anxious to get their names linked with Liverpool.
"I take most of it with a pinch of salt. We try to do our business properly with the targets we have and say as little as possible until the time is right."
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