Arteta gives Saliba injury update as defender targets November return

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William Saliba has taken another step in his recovery from a back injury, with Arsenal hopeful the centre back could return to action around the November international break.

The Frenchman has not featured for Arsenal this season after returning from the World Cup with a serious back issue. Arsenal sent Saliba for specialist assessments in London, which determined that surgery would not be required, but an extended period of rest was recommended, keeping him sidelined for the opening months of the campaign.

On Monday, Saliba was seen going through individual drills on the grass with two Arsenal coaches, working away from the main group as part of his cautious build up towards first team involvement.

Arteta on Saliba's progress

Speaking ahead of Arsenal's Champions League clash with Lille, Mikel Arteta confirmed Saliba has now been working on the grass for over a week.

"Now it's over a week [on the grass], I think, and he'll be managing that load," Arteta said. "How many repetitions and sessions in a row he can do, but he's building now his capacity to good standards. Let's see in the next few weeks [if] we can start to introduce him with the team, and to see where we are to actually make him available."

Asked directly whether the 25 year old would be available after next month's international break, Arteta was cautious. "I don't know, we're still talking about weeks," he said. "That is very difficult to say if he can play just before or after that. It is a very specific healing process and I cannot tell you exactly how he is going to react to it."

Defensive picture without Saliba

In Saliba's continued absence, Ezri Konsa has made an impressive start to life at Arsenal alongside Gabriel in central defence. Arsenal have also seen Ben White and Cristhian Mosquera recovering from their own respective injuries over the international break.

However, fresh concerns have emerged elsewhere in defence. Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi both picked up ankle issues during Arsenal's warm down following the win over Leeds on Saturday, ruling them out of the Lille fixture. Both players were undergoing scans on Monday to determine the extent of the problems.

With Saliba's return still described in terms of weeks rather than days, Arteta will continue to lean on his other defensive options as Arsenal navigate a busy fixture schedule across the Premier League and Champions League. Any update on a firm return date is likely to come closer to the November international break, as Arsenal monitor how Saliba responds to increased training loads.

Details first reported by Matt Verri of the Evening Standard.