William Saliba Returns to Training

Arsenal received a massive boost in training on Monday as William Saliba ramps up his recovery after being sidelined for nearly three months. The Frenchman took part in individual training sessions on grass, a sign that his return to fitness is going well.

Saliba was expected to miss around four to five months of football through the injury but an early return now looks possible. It has already been nearly three months since he was carried off the pitch in the World Cup semi-final, after just half an hour.

Arteta was asked in his press conference ahead of the Lille game regarding Saliba’s presence in training, saying: “It’s been over a week [since Saliba first returned to training], we’re managing that load and seeing how many repetitions and sessions in a row he can do. But he’s building his capacity to good standards and in the next few weeks we can start to introduce with the team to see where we are to actually make him available for the squad.”

When asked about whether a possible return on the pitch could come before the next international break in November, Arteta was cautious to give a strict timeline. “I don’t know, we’re still talking about weeks and when that happens it’s very different whether he’ll play just before or after that, because it’s a very specific injury, with that healing process I cannot tell you exactly how he’s going to react,' he added.

After the injury had occurred, a decision was made by Saliba and Arsenal to not have surgery on his back, which meant that Saliba’s recovery could be shortened significantly. According to reports, a lot of Saliba’s recovery has been centred around rest and not worsening the issue, in early August, Arteta explained, “William Saliba is in ‘rest mode’ at the moment. For two weeks he had to do almost nothing, don’t aggravate the injury.”

Saliba vitally previously missed 15 games for Arsenal and France in the 2023 title run-in with a back injury, and it’s an issue he’s been managing since then. The current injury has already kept him out of all Arsenal’s first nine games this season and will keep him out for at least the next few weeks.

Arsenal were however handed an injury blow ahead of the Tuesday night tie against Lille. Both Piero Hincapié and Martin Zubimendi were confirmed to miss the game through injuries both players picked up in the cool-down session after Arsenal’s 2-1 victory over Leeds United.

Although no return date has been set and it is only individual training that he has participated in, it is encouraging that Arsenal are expecting the Frenchman to remain sidelined for a few more weeks rather than months which was initially feared.