Arsenal are contending with troubling news on the injury front.
The big concern for the Gunners ahead of their final three games is the status of William Saliba, who has sat out recent weeks with a back issue, while Oleksandr Zinchenko is a new worry.
Mohamed Elneny has made steps towards his recovery of late while Takehiro Tomiyasu’s forecast has turned somewhat more negative.
Elsewhere, Mikel Arteta is fortunate to have avoided other noteworthy fitness issues in the Premier League title race run-in.
Here is your latest update of Arsenal injuries and return dates...
William Saliba
Arsenal are still determined to bring back French defender Saliba this season.
A troubling back injury picked up in mid-March has been constantly assessed in the hope he can return without serious risk of aggravating the problem.
Back out in light training, Saliba is yet to rejoin the full squad with the weekend clash with Brighton looking beyond him. However, the latest reports suggest he is out for the season.
“He’s feeling better every single day but he’s still not been able to have any activity around the first-team,” Arteta said last week.
Oleksandr Zinchenko
The Ukrainian went off with a calf issue in the win at Newcastle and, according to The Athletic, also been ruled out for the final weeks of the campaign.
Arsenal expect Zinchenko will not require surgery and will have Kieran Tierney on hand to deputise for the run-in.
Mohamed Elneny
Midfielder Elneny returned to light training this week as he continues his recovery from a knee injury. That has raised hopes of a surprise return this season.
But, after surgery in late January, the Egyptian will not play in the final weeks of the campaign, Standard Sport understands. He is nonetheless on track to be fit for pre-season.
Takehiro Tomiyasu
The hopes of Tomiyasu returning in time for pre-season are fading after Arteta admitted recently that the full-back may be out for “six months” with a knee injury.
The Japanese defender suffered the blow against Sporting CP in March’s Europa League encounter, meaning he could now be unavailable until September.
Alternatively, Arsenal’s more optimistic prognosis is that he will be ready to take at least some part in pre-season, depending on how his injury recovers.
