Arsenal are desperate to get William Saliba back from injury in a last-ditch bid to reignite their stalled title bid.
The Frenchman’s absence has coincided with something of a crucial collapse from the Premier League leaders, who were thrashed 4-1 by Manchester City in a likely decider in midweek.
That sobering loss came off the back of three successive draws against Southampton, West Ham and Liverpool, twice throwing away two-goal leads before having to fight back twice against the league’s bottom club, with Arsenal’s quest for a first title since 2004 running out of steam at exactly the wrong time.
The good news for manager Mikel Arteta is that Arsenal’s injury list at present is rather clear aside from Saliba and two long-term absentees, with Granit Xhaka having started and played an hour against City after illness ruled him out versus Southampton.
Here is the latest Arsenal injury news and potential return dates...
William Saliba
Saliba was always in a race against time to be fit to face City as he continues to battle a back issue sustained in the Europa League last-16 second-leg defeat by Sporting Lisbon on March 16.
However, he is just not making the required progress in his recovery and there remains a real concern that he could now sit out the remainder of the season.
“There’s not been a real improvement, unfortunately for him,” Arteta said on Tuesday. “So, we are still waiting.
“We are still hopeful but obviously, it’s another week that has gone by and he hasn’t been able to train with the team.”
Arsenal have a rearranged London derby with Chelsea coming on Tuesday night, with Saliba surely set to sit out that match too. After that, it’s tough clashes with high-flying Newcastle and Brighton before the season closes with games against Nottingham Forest and Wolves.
Arsenal have not looked anywhere near as solid defensively in Saliba’s absence, leaking goals week after week with replacement Rob Holding unable to form the same sort of productive partnership with Gabriel.
Takehiro Tomiyasu
Another defensive blow for Arsenal has been the loss of the versatile Takehiro Tomiyasu.
The Japan international was hurt alongside Saliba on that fateful night against Sporting at the Emirates Stadium last month, suffering a serious knee injury.
Tomiyasu quickly underwent surgery and was ruled out for the rest of the campaign, though Arteta will hope that he is fit to return for pre-season in the summer.
Mohamed Elneny
Like Tomiyasu, Elneny will not play any further part in Arsenal’s title push.
The experienced Egyptian midfielder missed the matches with Manchester United and Tottenham in January due to a knee injury that was deemed “significant” and he later underwent surgery, ruling him out for the season.
Arsenal said then that a more establised timescale for the return of Elneny, who also missed two months with a thigh problem earlier in the season, would be communicated “once the early stages of rehabilitation have been completed”.
The popular Elneny may have feared that his time at Arsenal was over, though he later signed a one-year contract extension keeping him in north London until the summer of 2024. He will now be targeting being fit for pre-season, having continued to lend his support in the dressing room and on matchdays.
