Mikel Arteta refused to confirm that William Saliba would return for Arsenal before the end of the season after admitting the French defender's recovery is "not progressing as quickly as we hoped".
The centre-back has missed the last four Premier League games with a back injury - matches in which the Gunners have failed to keep a clean sheet. There was initial optimism that Saliba was edging towards a return after he was spotted in the gym at London Colney.
Meanwhile, reports claimed that the former Saint-Etienne starlet was willing to do all he could to return for the title run-in. However, Arteta has now confirmed that the Gunners will be without his services once more for Friday evening’s clash with struggling Southampton.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, the Spanish head coach said: "With William, we are still to wait a little bit more. He’s not progressing as quickly as we hoped.
“We have to be delicate and we want to be very certain when we push him that he’s ready to absorb the load and the risk that we would take. At the moment, that’s not possible.”
Asked if his injury could potentially be season-ending, he replied: “I don’t know, next week we will have more certainty. There is some evolution. He is doing more activity but he’s not there yet to start to throw him on the pitch at the level that the session demands to compete in this league.”
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Saliba is among a clutch of players currently restricted to the sidelines for the North London side as they prepare for the final fixtures of the season. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Mohamed Elneny are set to be out for the remainder of the campaign, whilst Ukrainian utility man Oleksandr Zinchenko has been struggling with an injury issue.
The former Man City star missed the recent 2-2 draw with West Ham at the London Stadium. Arteta has conceded that he will also likely be out for Friday evening’s clash as the Gunners attempt to build a seven-point lead at the top of the table.
“We will see that one [Zinchenko] as well, it’s not certain,” he confirmed. “It’s a muscular injury and he needs some time to heal and we’re not there yet.”
Following their showdown with Southampton, Arsenal face yet another key clash in their hopes of securing the Premier League crown. They travel to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday evening and will hope that both Zinchenko and Saliba have at least edged towards making their returns to the side.
The pair have enjoyed hugely impressive debut campaigns at the Emirates Stadium, Saliba in particular catching the eye after striking up an excellent partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes.
