‘We Had to Stop’—William Saliba Injury Update Leaves Arsenal Sweating
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted centre back William Saliba suffered a setback in his bid to return from a minor ankle injury which has left him unable to train with the team for the past few weeks.
Saliba was ruled out of the 1–1 draw with Chelsea late last month but was not expected to need long on the sidelines, with Arteta insisting the Frenchman was just “days” away from a comeback. Since then, however, he has missed a further three games.
The mysterious nature of his continued absence left many fans worried during a period in which Gabriel and Cristhian Mosquera are both sidelined with their own injuries and Jurriën Timber battling a knock, leaving Arsenal with limited options for Saturday’s meeting with winless Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Ahead of the game, Arteta initially tried to keep quiet on Saliba’s condition. “We have to wait and see, yesterday he didn’t train. We have an extra day, let’s see if he can [play] tomorrow.”
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The Gunners boss was, however, pressed on the issue and went on to admit Saliba’s bid to recover from what he revealed to be an ankle injury took an unexpected twist.
“It was something quite small,” he explained. “It came from an ankle injury that he had, and then he started to modify the way he was running and all that, and he started to overload an area, which is something common.
“But at some point, it became uncomfortable to continue training and playing, and we had to stop. He looks better but we have to wait and see if it’s enough for him to be able to train with the team.”
Late Fitness Tests for Rice, Timber, Trossard
Saliba’s injury is not the only worry in Arteta’s squad, with a handful of big names all battling issues serious enough to force them on to the sidelines.
Midfielder Declan Rice missed the 3–0 Champions League win over Club Brugge in midweek with an illness, while Timber was also ruled out alongside winger Leandro Trossard.
In predictable fashion, Arteta declined to reveal whether any of the trio would be fit enough to face Wolves in a game which could see the Gunners lose their spot atop the Premier League standings with anything less than victory.
Beginning with Timber, Arteta said: “It depends how he feels today. It was a knock that he picked [up] and he wasn’t feeling comfortable. Whether it’s tomorrow or not we will see.”
It was a similar sentiment for Rice. “Let’s see how he goes today, he was ill. Normally in a few days, but let’s see how he gets on.”
Trossard’s return was also described as a “matter of days,” but Arteta did, at least, confirm there were no fresh injuries in the squad from the victory over Brugge.
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