Folks, it happened. William Saliba is back in Arsenal training. The French centerback has been out of action since the World Cup semifinal recovering from a back injury that the club knew would need addressing after last season. Saliba, presumably with the input and blessing of the club and the French National Team doctors, decided that he’d manage his injury through the tournament and deal with the back issue afterwards. Early in that semifinal, he went down, could be seen saying “my back is gone”
to his teammates, and that was that.
The “good” post-World Cup news was that Saliba would not need surgery to repair the problem. But he did need several months of rest and rehabilitation to heal. The exact nature of his injury was never disclosed, just that it was a “longstanding” problem. My suspicion is that he had a fractured vertebrae. I had one about 25 years ago and Saliba’s ability to manage the injury and continue playing for a time, suddenly being unable to keep playing through it, treatment plan, and length of absence match up with my experience.
Mikel Arteta told reporters that Saliba is scheduled for another MRI next week to check on the “healing process” so it doesn’t sound as if he is quite ready for action. For what it’s worth, Saliba was said to be aiming for a November return to action, and the initial timelines suggested Arsenal might not have him back until December.
Either way, his return to training is excellent news. William Saliba is one of the best, if not the best, CB in the world. Whenever he gets back on the pitch for Arsenal, it’ll make the team better. And that’s saying something because the Gunners have the best defensive record in the Premier League, in large part due to Ezri Konsa’s nearly seamlessly slotting into Saliba’s place. Mikel Arteta will having some rotation and pairings stuff to work out, but that’s a brilliant problem to have.
Welcome (mostly) back, Wilo!
