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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Marc Mayo

Arsenal injury update: William Saliba, Granit Xhaka and Takehiro Tomiyasu latest news and return dates

Arsenal will remain without William Saliba for Wednesday’s Premier League title decider against Manchester City.

The French defender is not making progress with his recovery from a back issue and could yet miss the remainder of the season.

Arsenal are also still sweating on the fitness of Granit Xhaka, who sat out the recent chaotic draw with Southampton.

Despite the gravity of the game against City at the Etihad Stadium, the Gunners are keen not to risk pushing their players too hard.

Two Arsenal players out for the long-term are Takehiro Tomiyasu and Mohamed Elneny after Oleksandr Zinchenko made his return from a groin injury last Friday.

Here is your latest update of Arsenal injuries and return dates...

Granit Xhaka

Mikel Arteta confirmed before the game against Southampton that Xhaka was unavailable due to feeling unwell.

The exact nature of the Swiss midfielder’s illness was not revealed but, generally speaking, such absences are not long and he could be in the mix for City.

”Unfortunately this morning Granit wasn't feeling very well,” Arteta said as Fabio Vieira got the nod against Southampton.

Granit Xhaka was unavailable due to feeling unwell (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

William Saliba

The Frenchman has not played since coming off on March 16 in the Europa League exit to Sporting CP, due to a back injury.

Arsenal are desperate not to rush his return and Saliba has so far been limited to gym work, meaning a comeback against City is out of the question. There are growing fears that he won’t play again this season.

“There has not been real improvement unfortunately on him,” Arteta said of Saliba in his pre-City press conference on Tuesday. “So we are still waiting, we are still hopeful, but obviously it is another week that has gone by and he hasn’t been able to train with the team.

“At the moment, we don’t have him. We are preparing for this game without him and the next game is probably going to come too close as well, so we have to go week by week at the moment.”

William Saliba has so far been limited to gym work in his recovery from a back injury (REUTERS)

Takehiro Tomiyasu

Tomiyasu was also forced off against Sporting, with a knee injury that required surgery. As a result, his season is confirmed as over.

Takehiro Tomiyasu will not play again for Arsenal this season after knee surgery (REUTERS)

Mohamed Elneny

Likewise, veteran midfielder Elneny will not play again in 2022-23 due to a knee issue suffered in January. The club announced after an operation that he will miss a “significant” period of time.

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