Arsenal face a long injury layoff for star defender William Saliba ahead of their 2026/27 Premier League title defence
15:08, 22 Jul 2026
Arsenal defender William Saliba will reportedly not undergo surgery on a back injury but still faces a prolonged period out. According to L'Equipe, the centre-back will speak to the Gunners management before making a decision on the problem that forced him to miss France's World Cup semi-final and third-placed playoff.
The 25-year-old has been suffering a back issue for several weeks and carried it into the World Cup. Saliba played through the injury and was afforded a rest in the group stage dead rubber against Norway before returning for their knockout matches. But he broke down inside half-an-hour during their semi-final against Spain which has put his role in the beginning of Arsenal's title defence in jeopardy.
L'Equipe have reported that he will not have surgery on the back injury but instead will undergo a lengthy period of treatment and rest.
It now leaves a question mark over his involvement in the Gunners' Premier League title defence which gets underway at home to newly-promoted Coventry City on August 21. Due to his participation at the World Cup, held across North America, he was due to have an extended period of rest but his injury issues will undoubtedly see him miss the entirety of preparations with Mikel Arteta's side.
Reports suggested that Saliba could miss as many as five months due to the back problem, keeping him out until the new year. Didier Deschamps described the centre-back's pain as "unbearable" throughout the World Cup.
He said ahead of the third-placed playoff: "William Saliba got injured and it's problematic.
"He went through some examinations. The injury did not worsen. He faced that injury since March. He had some pain and unfortunately the pain was not bearable."
Arteta will have a headache for the beginning of Arenal's title defence as he is forced to ponder over how to plug the hole left by Saliba's absence.
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The Frenchman forged an insurmountable partnership with Gabriel which was pivotal in Arsenal ending their 20-year wait to return to the summit of English football.
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher lauded the pairing between the two but felt that Saliba's problems were being exposed in Gabriel's absence. He said "I think he is one of the top centre-backs in European football.
"As a partnership, him and Gabriel is as good as anything in the Premier League. I think Saliba is the better player but Gabriel is the better leader, and Saliba needs to bring that to his game if he wants to get to the levels we talk about with Virgil van Dijk."
He added: "Saliba's not a kid anymore but he's not quite in his prime. As a centre-back, when you know the guy next to you is a leader, when he moves away, you've got to become the leader and organise the back four, not just play your own game.
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"For me, the great centre-backs, it's not about how good you are and everything you can do. He's great in the air, he's got great pace and he's good on the ball, you want all of that, but you need to affect other people.
"Think of the great centre-backs - Tony Adams, Virgil van Dijk. They're not just great players, they make everyone else around them look like great players.
"That's the thing I think is still lacking with Saliba. Without Gabriel, he doesn't look the same player, and that's not something you want to be labelled as. I'd be embarrassed if I were playing as a centre-back for Liverpool and people were saying, 'He's not the same player without him next to him'.
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"We say that a lot about other Liverpool centre-backs without Van Dijk, but he's very rarely out and he makes the person alongside him look like a top player. If we are being totally honest, a lot of the Liverpool centre-backs from the last three or four years, I think the Liverpool supporters think they are a lot better than they actually are because of who they are playing alongside.
"I'm still waiting to see that next step to Saliba becoming a great. He's a top player. He's got everything you'd want.
"But to make that next step, to be alongside the likes of Adams in an Arsenal shirt and Van Dijk in a Liverpool shirt, you've got to make that next step, and that's becoming a leader."