Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta confirmed that William Saliba will miss the Champions League clash against Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday but added that he expects a quick return to action for the centre-back.
Saliba missed Arsenal’s draw against Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday with a muscular injury that Arteta had said he was “very worried” about.
But, the Spaniard’s concerns have been allayed by Saliba’s progress in the days since.
“He’s evolving really well,” Arteta said in a news conference on Tuesday.
“The last few days he was feeling much better already but this game comes a little bit too early for him.”
Saliba’s relatively short period on the sidelines will be come as a relief to Arteta, whose side have been ravaged by injury this season. Club captain Martin Ødegaard missed a majority of the first half of the season with an ankle injury, while Ben White, Bukayo Saka, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Gabriel Jesus all remain long-term absentees.
That injury report means the return of Ethan Nwaneri and Riccardo Calafiori to training comes as a welcome respite.
“Very positive news. We missed them for a few weeks and they returned today for training. They will be available for the game,” Arteta said of the duo, who picked up injuries against Brighton at the start of the year.
