William Saliba could make his long-awaited Arsenal return this week after returning to full training with the team on Tuesday ahead of the UEFA Champions League clash with Slavia Praha
William Saliba has returned to Arsenal training ahead of a big week for the club
William Saliba has returned to Arsenal training ahead of a big week for the club(Image: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
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William Saliba has returned to full Arsenal training and was spotted with the group ahead of the Champions League clash with Slavia Praha.
The Frenchman has not featured this season after suffering a back injury, but he featured with his national team throughout the World Cup. The 25-year-old escaped the need for surgery but embarked upon a lengthy rehabilitation programme, with some fears he could be missing for the rest of 2026.
However, the player has made huge strides and has been on the grass since early October. Speaking in the middle of last month, Arteta provided the latest update that Saliba was making positive progress.
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"I think next week we have another MRI with him to see how the healing process is going," he said. "But every sign so far has been very, very positive. It will be good to have him."
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Ezri Konsa was signed in the summer for £55million and has been a shining success, helping the side keep five clean sheets in his eight appearances in the league so far for his new side. Arteta now has the upcoming dilemma of how to balance the minutes of Konsa, Saliba and Gabriel.
The Spaniard is spoiled with a wealth of defensive talent and can also call upon Cristhian Mosquera, Marli Salmon, Ben White, Piero Hincapie and Riccardo Calafiori, who can all play centre-half.
After dealing with several fitness concerns, Arsenal are now only without Bukayo Saka, who continues his recovery from a quadriceps issue, which is believed to be keeping him out for more than a month. Arteta will face the press in Prague later today to provide more updates if asked about the talisman’s status.
Christos Tzolis recovered from a hamstring injury to start and star against Liverpool on Sunday, while Eberechi Eze worked extremely hard to make himself available after suffering a problem following the defeat to Fleetwood Town.
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Max Dowman, who is serving a three-match suspension, also trained and can feature with the ban specific to domestic fixtures only. The 16-year-old could become the club’s youngest ever Champions League starter, breaking the record set by Cesc Fabregas at 17 years and 169 days in 2004.
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