William Saliba injury timeline update as Arsenal told when star defender could return

William Saliba is still expected to be out for multiple months of action for Arsenal(Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Arsenal have been given some clarity on when William Saliba might return to action as he continues his recovery from a major back injury after playing for France at the World Cup. It was suspected that the 25-year-old might need a procedure following the tournament, but thankfully, this was avoided.

In his stead, the club have used both Cristhian Mosquera and the new summer signing Ezri Konsa to fill the void. Mosquera won all three of the Arsenal games he started in before the arrival of the former Aston Villa man, who also remained unbeaten until the 3-0 away defeat at Brighton, in which Saliba’s absence was highlighted, perhaps predictably, after the match.

Mikel Arteta has been honest that the process was expected to be long, with a period of rest that needed to be respected before the player began building up his fitness and getting back on the grass and eventually rejoining his teammates.

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"We don't really know the amount of weeks he's going to be out because it's about a healing process and everything is a bit different – we know we have to respect certain timings," Arteta said at the start of September. "The progression has been really positive in the last few weeks, but we need to wait and see how that one reacts when we start to put some load into it."

While at the time the Arsenal manager was unable to provide much clarity over how long he would be missing, there has since been some indication that it could still be multiple months.

RMC Sport's Fabrice Hawkins reported: "William Saliba could make his return to competition in December if all goes well. Arsenal's defender is currently continuing his recovery following his back fracture."

This would mean Saliba would miss all the matches in October and November including clashes with Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City. Arsenal face both huge clashes against rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid in December, but these could both still come too soon.

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