William Saliba claimed his back is gone in injury blow to Arsenal | OneFootball

Arsenal centre-back William Saliba reportedly claimed he has suffered a back injury during France’s semi-final game against Spain in the World Cup.

The Gunners defender has been managing back issues since last season, and manager Mikel Arteta and the Emirates Stadium club have been worried about his fitness.

Saliba was withdrawn from the game and is likely to be unavailable for the final or third place play-off game depending on tonight’s result.

The 25-year-old France international has featured in six games at the World Cup so far, but it appears he has played his last game at the tournament.

Arsenal will hope Saliba is available to feature when the season starts, but he could miss a large chunk of pre-season due to his knock tonight.

The North London club are looking to sign another centre-back this summer, and an injury to the Frenchman could leave them with no option.

They could also be sweating on the fitness of Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice.

The England international duo are available to face Argentina tomorrow night and Arteta will hope they emerge unscathed afterwards.

Arsenal cannot afford to head into the new season with several injury blows and will be desperate for some good news on Saliba and others.

They have signed Piero Hincapie in a permanent deal from Bayer Leverkusen for £34.5 million after his loan spell last term.

French goalkeeper Illan Meslier has also joined for free after Leeds United released him.

Leandro Trossard is set to join Besiktas in a £17m deal, and more departures are on the cards as Arsenal look to tweak their squad for the new season.