Arsenal injury update: William Saliba, Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz latest news and return dates | OneFootball

Gunners have plenty of key fitness concerns before Premier League returns

Your matchday briefing on Arsenal, featuring team news and expert analysis from Simon Collings

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Arsenal have a number of key injury issues lingering ahead of their return to Premier League action against Nottingham Forest next weekend.

The Gunners have already been dealing with several important absentees just weeks into the new season, with Bukayo Saka, William Saliba, Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz just a few of the players who have spent time on the sidelines during the early stages of the campaign.

Such problems certainly did not help Mikel Arteta’s side in their 1-0 defeat by likely title rivals Liverpool at Anfield immediately prior to the current international break, a result that halted their initial momentum following narrow victory away against Manchester United on opening weekend and a five-goal demolition of newly-promoted Leeds.

Standard Sport provides the latest Arsenal injury news and return dates ahead of that high-profile run of fixtures, with Arteta at least now having captain Odegaard back fit after he came off the bench at Liverpool following a shoulder complaint and went away on international duty with Norway.

William Saliba

Saliba twisted his ankle during Arsenal’s warm-up at Anfield last weekend, but tried to play though the issue before limping off after only five minutes and replaced by summer signing Cristhian Mosquera.

He subsequently withdrew from the France squad for their latest World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine and Iceland, with Arteta admitting after the defeat by Liverpool that he was unsure as to the severity of the problem as he praised Mosquera for stepping up.

There was panic among Arsenal fans at the weekend when French publication L’Equipe reported that Saliba would miss three or four weeks of action and was also unlikely to be available for France’s matches against Azerbaijan and Iceland next month.

If true, then the influential centre-back could miss a total of seven Arsenal games between now and following the next international break, including against the likes of Athletic Club, Manchester City, Newcastle, Olympiacos and West Ham.

Potential return date: Unknown, possibly October

Bukayo Saka

Odegaard and Saka were both forced off in the rout of Leeds on August 23, the latter having suffered another hamstring injury shortly after the interval at the Emirates Stadium.

This time it was his left hamstring rather than the right, a tear of which last December required surgery and forced the England winger to miss three-and-a-half months.

Saka does not need an operation this time and Arteta said that he expects him to miss “a few weeks”, though he could not be more specific than that.

Saka obviously was not part of the England squad to face Andorra and Serbia, while Arteta has admitted that these recurring hamstring injuries are causing Arsenal concern.

The Gunners will presumably hope that Saka could be recovered in time to play some part at home to City on September 21, though that remains to be seen.

Potential return date: Unknown, possibly late September

Ben White

White - who missed three months last season after knee surgery - started against Manchester United on opening weekend and played 71 minutes at right-back before being replaced by Jurrien Timber.

He picked up an unspecified knock in that game and was absent against both Leeds and Liverpool, though Standard Sport understands he is hoping to return for Saturday’s visit of Forest to the Emirates in a nice boost for Arteta.

Potential return date: Saturday September 13, vs Nottingham Forest (H)

Ben White could return against Nottingham Forest, but Bukayo Saka and likely William Saliba will not

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Kai Havertz

Havertz came off the bench for Arsenal at Old Trafford but sustained a knee issue that required minor surgery to correct.

It was said the club were optimistic that he would be sidelined for a period of weeks rather than months, with Arteta saying “many, many weeks” in his last update before the defeat at Liverpool.

Havertz is another Arsenal regular to have suffered serious injury last season, missing most of the second half of the campaign after needing surgery on a hamstring tear picked up during a training camp in Dubai.

Potential return date: Unknown, potentially November

Christian Norgaard

Summer signing from Brentford has yet to make a single competitive appearance for Arsenal after an unspecified issue suffered in August, with Arteta saying ahead of the Leeds game that he would miss another week or so.

However, he was not involved at all against Liverpool and there has been no further update since, so perhaps the Danish midfielder will be on the bench against Forest this weekend.

Potential return date: Saturday September 13, vs Nottingham Forest (H)

Christian Norgaard has yet to play a competitive match since joining Arsenal from Brentford in July

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Gabriel Jesus

Gabriel Jesus has been ramping up his work on the training pitch after recovering from surgery on an anterior cruciate ligament tear suffered in the FA Cup clash with Manchester United back in January.

However, he hasn’t been deemed ready to return just yet and was omitted from Arsenal’s squad for the league phase of the Champions League named last week.

Potential return date: October or November