William Saliba Takes Major Step Towards Arsenal Return After Back Injury

Arsenal have had good news in their title defence, as William Saliba has reportedly started running on grass again for the first time since the summer, L'Equipe reports.

The 25-year-old France defender has been out with a back problem since July, after leaving France's World Cup semi-final defeat to eventual champions Spain early. He avoided surgery. Instead, he has been doing daily massages and physiotherapy at Arsenal, and the club's medical staff have taken their time, only now letting him move from cycling to running.

L'Equipe says Saliba leaned on heavy painkillers late last season and at the World Cup. The pain was bad enough that he sometimes could not move freely for two days after a match.

He is now resting in the Ile-de-France region during the international break, and people close to him want no rush. "He knows he has to take his time," his entourage told L'Equipe. "He's suffered too much and wants to come back at 100 per cent."

That fits with what Mikel Arteta said earlier. "He is in rest mode at the moment," the Arsenal boss said. "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's absence has forced Arteta to change his defence. Summer signing Ezri Konsa has played alongside Gabriel Magalhaes in the last three Premier League games. Since joining in 2019, Saliba has played 184 games for the club, won a Premier League title and two Community Shields, and finished runner-up in the Champions League and the Carabao Cup. He has been in the PFA Team of the Year four seasons in a row and has twice been nominated for the Ballon d'Or.

If his body handles the extra work on the grass, Saliba is aiming to return in November. Arsenal will watch him closely in the coming weeks to avoid a setback. Until then, Arteta will keep relying on Konsa and Gabriel at the back through a busy autumn.