Arsenal may have been given the biggest boost to their Premier League title hopes yet as defender William Saliba has been spotted back in training at London Colney. The France international has been injured with a back issue since the second leg of the Europa League exit to Sporting CP.
It coincided with the loss of Takehiro Tomiyasu for the season, leaving Rob Holding to deputise until there was a clear update on the fitness of Saliba. There will be hopes that he can return for the huge title fight with Manchester City next week, especially given the side's back-to-back draws.
The spot came from Mohamed Elneny's instagram account, where he posted on his story a video of himself and Saliba working in the club's gym on the bikes in training. It remains to be seen whether that means the youngster will be back in time to feature for the run-in, with the big step being the transition to playing on grass.
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There will remain some scepticism over his fitness though, especially given the fact that Elneny is out for the remainder of the season but was also riding the bike. However, many will be hopeful of seeing the defender make a return before the end of the season, despite how difficult back injuries are to judge.
"He [Saliba] is progressing well and we hope he will be available in the next few weeks," Mikel Arteta said ahead of the clash with West Ham at the weekend. "He’s not far off starting to do that [returning to training on the grass]. Obviously, we need to be cautious because of the injury but he’s evolving well."
It remains to be seen whether Saliba has now taken that step into playing on the grass once more, given that will be the key indicator. However, seeing him in training at London Colney may be the boost that both the team and the fans need in reigniting a title bid this season that has faltered slightly of late.
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