Arsenal's Champions League squad confirmed as major William Saliba injury hint dropped
William Saliba is eligible to play for Arsenal in the Champions League league phase(Image: Getty Images)
Arsenal have included William Saliba in their squad for the Champions League league phase.
Saliba, 25, has not played for the Gunners since they lost on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain in last season's final. The defender sustained a back injury during this summer's World Cup.
He was forced off half an hour into France's semi-final defeat against Spain. Despite being named as a substitute for their bronze final loss to England, Saliba did not feature.
The player then returned to London for specialist reviews. Extensive assessments concluded that surgery was not recommended, and Saliba instead started a managed recovery programme.
Arsenal did not set a timeline for Saliba's return. They only said he is expected to be out of action for an extended period.
The club also acknowledged that everyone is fully focused on supporting Saliba to ensure he is back to full fitness as soon as possible. Six weeks later, his inclusion in their league-phase squad suggests they are hopeful of having him back at some stage before the end of January.
The last round of matches are in the final week of that month. Arsenal are scheduled to host the Azerbaijan Premier League champions Sabah at Emirates Stadium.
If they did not believe that Saliba would have any chance of being fit to feature, then they could have waited until after the league phase to register him. Clubs who progress to the knockout phase can add three players to their squad by midnight on 4 February.
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However, registering Saliba now avoids any scenario in which they would need to add three new players signed during the winter transfer window in addition to their defender.
There is also the ability to replace one player in the event of a long-term injury lasting at least 60 days. The deadline for doing so is up to and including matchday six on 8 and 9 December.
Arsenal have registered 22 players on their List A, three fewer than the maximum allowed by UEFA. Max Dowman and Myles Lewis-Skelly are not, as they do not need to be, because they are eligible for their List B.
Lewis-Skelly qualifies after being born after 1 January 2005 and has been eligible to play for the Gunners for at least two straight years since their 15th birthday. He will also be able to be there again next year.
Dowman can also be on it, too. That is because he is a 16-year-old who has been registered with Arsenal for the previous two years without interruption.
David Raya, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Illan Meslier; William Saliba, Cristhian Mosquera, Ben White, Piero Hincapie, Gabriel Magalhaes, Jurrien Timber, Ezri Konsa, Riccardo Calafiori; Martin Odegaard, Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke, Mikel Merino, Kai Havertz, Martin Zubimendi, Bruno Guimaraes, Declan Rice; Bukayo Saka, Viktor Gyokeres, Christos Tzolis
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