Arteta give update on William Saliba's injury

Arsenal Saliba injured against Sporting CP

Arteta give update on William Saliba's injury

Stephen Oladehinde 15:44 - 14.04.2023

In the second leg of their Europa League match against Sporting CP, Willam Saliba suffered a back injury and has been sidelined ever since.

This season, the French defender and Gabriel Magalhaes have been the backbone of Arsenal's defence, and their contributions have helped their team to the top of the league table.

Mikel Arteta has given an update on William Saliba and says he will be unavailable for this weekend’s game at West Ham United, but Eddie Nketiah has resumed training and is in contention to play some part.

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Arteta hopeful on Saliba’s return

Arteta revealed in the pre-match press conference that the 21-year-old defender will be forced to watch from the sidelines on Sunday after nursing a back injury that has seen him miss Arsenal's last three matches.

The 41-year-old is optimistic that he will be able to play again for the Gunners this season as soon as possible.

The Arsenal manager also spoke about Nketiah who has been out since the 4-0 win against Everton and says he has seen enough from the England under-21 to put him in his plans for the remainder of the season.

Mikel Arteta’s press conference 

Speaking on the Saliba situation, Mikel said, “William is still not available. He’s progressing well and we are hopeful we’ll have him available in the next few weeks, but we’ll have to see. 

“He’s not far from starting to do that [return to training]. Obviously, we need to be cautious because of the injury, but he’s evolving well.

“Eddie is back and is fully fit now. We want our players to be as fit as possible and available. We’ve had some issues, especially in the last few months with some important players. We just want to have everybody fit and available to help the team.”

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