Mikel Arteta spoke with the press ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League clash against West Ham United on the weekend. After Eddie Nketiah returned to training this week, the Spaniard has a near-fully fit squad to choose from.
Only Mohamed Elneny and Takehiro Tomiyasu are confirmed as being out for the rest of the season. However, there has been growing fear with every passing week without William Saliba being included in the squad as to how serious his back injury might be.
Mikel Arteta was coy about the status of the Frenchman last week but provided a much clearer indication on Friday. It was, however, not necessarily good news, with the Arsenal manager confirming he would be missing for the weekend's game.
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"William Saliba is still not available," Arteta said. "He is progressing well and we hope he will be available in the next few weeks."
When asked whether Saliba was back training on grass, Arteta added: "He’s not far off starting to do that. Obviously we need to be cautious because of the injury but he’s evolving well."
With the trip to Manchester City in just over two weeks time on Wednesday, April 26, it seems there's a good chance therefore he could miss the pivotal title clash. Rob Holding is expected to continue in the Frenchman's place.
Meanwhile, Arteta did confirm that Eddie Nketiah is fit and available for selection, saying: "Eddie is back. He’s fully fit now and he’s back."
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