Arsenal trained without William Saliba or Eddie Nketiah on Thursday to leave both players’ participation against Leeds in major doubt.
French defender Saliba pulled up with a back injury during the recent Europa League game against Sporting CP and sat out the subsequent win over Crystal Palace, plus his country’s Euro 2024 qualifiers.
Standard Sport understand the 22-year-old is being monitored by the Gunners medical staff at fear of the injury being aggravated if he is rushed back to action, with no exact timeframe put on his return.
On Thursday, Saliba was again absent from the full training session ahead of the clash with Leeds.
Also missing was Eddie Nketiah, who continues to battle an ankle issue that has kept him out for a number of weeks.
There was good news however, in the form of Thomas Partey and Kieran Tierney’s return to work. Martin Odegaard also featured having shaken off a blow from Manchester City’s Rodri in Norway’s defeat to Spain.
The Ghanaian midfielder sat out his country’s match on Monday but is confident of facing Leeds.
Tierney, meanwhile, picked up a minor calf issue with Scotland but is now likely to make the bench on Saturday.
Takehiro Tomiyasu and Mohamed Elneny are long-term injury absentees, both of whom missed Thursday’s workout as expected.
