William Saliba, Eddie Nketiah: Arsenal injury news and return dates following Liverpool draw
Arsenal and Liverpool played out a hugely entertaining Premier League match on Sunday, drawing 2-2 at Anfield.
The Gunners went up 2-0 in the opening half an hour before Jurgen Klopp’s side fought back as a late Roberto Firmino leveller delivered a major blow to the north Londoners’ title hopes. Still, Mikel Arteta and co are still six points clear of second-placed Manchester City, albeit the reigning champions do have a game in hand.
Next up for Arsenal is another away match, this time against David Moyes’ West Ham United. Ahead of the Gunners’ trip to east London, football.london has rounded up the latest injury news from the Emirates Stadium as fans anxiously wait on news regarding defender William Saliba.
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William Saliba
A cross limped off in Arsenal’s exit from the Europa League against Sporting CP, suffering an issue with his back that forced the youngster to be substituted. The Frenchman then missed the clash with Crystal Palace, as well as the aforementioned win over Leeds at the weekend.
The defender missed the clash with Liverpool. It remains unclear when he will be back, with a back injury difficult to gauge just how big the issue is.
football.london understands that the French international was seen walking comfortably through the mixed zone after the match against Leeds on Saturday, similar to what he did after both the Sporting CP and Crystal Palace outings.
What Arteta has said: “We are trying to manage him in the best possible way. Unfortunately he’s not gonna be fit for this game (against Leeds) and we’re trying and he’s trying to do everything to feel better and get back training. But not yet.
“No real changes to the rest of the players who were injured. We have some hope on one who may be able to train tomorrow but we’ll have to see.”
Expected return date: Unknown
Eddie Nketiah
During Gabriel Jesus’ absence, Nketiah rose to the challenge and fired Arsenal to a number of pivotal wins. However, due to an ankle injury, the forward has been absent in recent weeks, football.london understands. The forward could return to the matchday squad over the weekend though with Arteta’s cryptic injury update possibly in relation to Nketiah.
What Arteta has said: “He’s getting better. He’s still in the boot. He’s still a few weeks away and we need to be patient. It was a nasty injury and he has a big challenge ahead of him. Thank God it could have been worse. So he’s not in a bad place.
“No, no real changes to the rest of the players who were injured. We have some hope on one who may be able to train tomorrow but we’ll have to see.”
Takehiro Tomiyasu
Takehiro Tomiyasu was substituted inside the first 10 minutes of the Gunners’ clash against Sporting CP at the Emirates Stadium. The Japanese defender had overstretched for a tackle early in the match and had to receive treatment on the pitch shortly afterwards and was unable to continue.
The Japan international wasn’t in the squad to face Crystal Palace, with it later confirmed he had undergone knee surgery. Now the medical staff have learned the extent of the defender’s injury.
An official club statement reads: “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
Elneny started in the FA Cup win over Oxford United and played the whole 90 minutes. However, the Egyptian was absent for Arteta’s squad for the 2-0 win at Tottenham, with a knee issue picked up in training ahead of the clash being assessed. Additionally, there was no place on the bench to face Manchester United.
A club statement then confirmed that the former Basel man will be out for an extended period of time, although no timescale was given on his expected return. Elneny has since penned a new deal at Arsenal as he closes in on a return.
Expected return date: Unknown
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