William Saliba return date emerges as Arsenal star’s camp provide injury update | Football

William Saliba has started running for the first time in his recovery from injury and is hoping to return to competitive action with Arsenal in November.

Arsenal announced back in July that Saliba would be sidelined for an ‘extended period’ after the defender came back from France’s World Cup campaign with a back problem.

It came after Saliba lasted only 30 minutes of Les Bleus’ semi-final exit at the hands of Spain, who would go on to win this year’s tournament.

There were initial fears that Saliba may be forced to undergo surgery but the Gunners confirmed this not to be the case, with the 25-year-old instead requiring a long ‘period of rehahiliation’ to bring him back up to speed.

The injury means Saliba is yet to feature for Arsenal this season and summer signing Ezri Konsa has played a prominent role in his place, starting the champions’ last three matches in the Premier League alongside Gabriel Magalhaes.

According to L’Equipe, Saliba took painkillers to help get him through much of the end of last season and the World Cup – and was often unable to move freely for between 24-48 hours after matches.

It’s claimed Saliba has been receiving daily treatment and massages, while undergoing physical work with physiotherapists, on a daily basis at Arsenal, who have been keep to take a cautious approach with the centre-back’s rehabilitation.

‘He knows he has to take his time,’ Saliba’s entourage told the French newspaper.

‘He’s suffered too much and wants to come back at 100 per cent.’

The report adds that Saliba has now swapped cycling for running and his long-awaited first-team comeback will ultimately be dependent on how his body reacts in the coming weeks.

But the former Saint-Etienne man is said to be targeting a November return if he continues on the same trajectory.

He is currently making the most of the international break, leaving London to enjoy a few days of rest in Ile-de-France, a region in north-central France.

When asked for an update on Saliba’s progress in the summer, Mikel Arteta encouraged Arsenal fans to be patient in order for the Frenchman to ‘heal’ properly.

‘He is in rest mode at the moment,’ the Arsenal head coach told reporters at the time. 

‘He had to do almost nothing, an aggravated injury, so it’s going to take some time to heal. We know that.

‘As soon as we have more news, we can inform you.’

Saliba has made a total of 184 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal since arriving at the Emirates back in 2019.

In that time, Saliba has won a Premier League title and two Community Shields with the north London giants, while also picking up runners-up medals in both the Champions League and Carabao Cup.

The France international has been included in the PFA Team of the Year in each of the last four seasons and has twice been named amongst the Ballon d’Or nominees.

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