Arsenal injury news and return dates amid William Saliba latest ahead of Chelsea

Arsenal will play Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night. However, the team’s attempt to win the Premier League title has been hindered in recent weeks due to William Saliba’s injury, resulting in Arsenal only gaining three points from their last four league matches. 

This has given Manchester City an advantage as they currently have one more point than Arsenal and have played one less game. 

Despite this setback, Mikel Arteta and his team are still hopeful of winning their remaining five league matches and are counting on Manchester City to stumble. Ahead of Arsenal’s game against Chelsea, ArsenalBrief has provided updates on the latest injury news in north London.

William Saliba

William Saliba sustained a back injury during Arsenal’s Europa League game against Sporting CP, which forced him to leave the pitch. 

Since then, he has been absent from several matches, including the game against Manchester City.

 It is uncertain whether he will be available for the match against Chelsea, but given his lack of training so far, it seems improbable.

What Arteta has said: “Regarding William [Saliba], we still have to wait a little bit more. He is not progressing as quick as we hoped. It’s a bit delicate and we want to be very certain when we push him that he is ready to absorb the load and the risk that we will take and at the moment that’s not possible to do.

“I don’t know [if it’s season ending], it’s a bit early to do [predictions]. Probably next week we are going to have more certainty. There is some evolution, he is doing more activity, but he is not there yet to start to throw him on the pitch at the level that the sessions demand to compete in this league.”

“There’s not been a real improvement unfortunately on him, so we’re still waiting,” Arteta said ahead of the City game. “We’re still hopeful, but another week has gone by and he hasn’t been able to train with the team.

“At the moment we don’t have him. We are preparing the game without him and probably the next game will come too soon as well. We have to go week by week at the moment.”

Expected return date: Unknown

Granit Xhaka

Granit Xhaka was absent from Arsenal’s starting line-up against Southampton, which affected the team’s performance in the attacking third. 

He was unable to play due to illness and was not seen in training before the match against Manchester City. 

However, Xhaka did return to the team for the game against Manchester City, playing in his typical midfield position on the left.

 This marked his comeback from illness, and he will be available for the upcoming match against Chelsea.

Takehiro Tomiyasu

Takehiro Tomiyasu had to be substituted during Arsenal’s match against Sporting CP after only playing for less than 10 minutes at the Emirates Stadium. 

The defender injured himself by overstretching during a tackle, which resulted in him receiving treatment on the field, but he was not able to continue playing. 

As a consequence, he did not participate in the match against Crystal Palace, and it was later announced that he underwent knee surgery. The medical team has now evaluated the severity of his injury.

An official club statement read: “Tomi has had successful surgery in London on Tuesday and will be ruled out for the remainder of this season. Everyone at the club will now be working hard with Tomi, so he can join pre-season training ahead of next season.”

What Arteta has said: “We don’t know. The doctor is assessing. We have one assessment and I think they need to have another assessment tomorrow. It’s not looking good. Tomi is not one to exaggerate things. He was really concerned straight away and we are concerned.”

Expected return date: June

Mohamed Elneny

Mohamed Elneny played the full 90 minutes in Arsenal’s FA Cup victory over Oxford United but was unavailable for the Tottenham game due to a knee injury that he sustained in training before the match. 

He also did not make an appearance on the bench for the game against Manchester United. 

The club later issued a statement confirming that Elneny would be absent for a prolonged period, although they did not provide a specific timeframe for his return. However, Elneny has recently signed a new contract with Arsenal and is approaching a comeback from his injury.

Expected return date: Unknown

Arsenal injury news and return dates amid William Saliba latest ahead of Chelsea