Mikel Arteta reveals shock William Saliba injury boost in five-man Arsenal update | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta also provides the latest on Bukayo Saka, Piero Hincapie, Ben White, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus as the Premier League returns

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

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William Saliba has returned to training already in a surprise injury boost for Arsenal and could play in Saturday’s clash with Nottingham Forest.

Saliba subsequently withdrew from the France squad for 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine and Iceland, with fears that he could miss a key stretch of games for Arsenal heightened after reports from France last weekend that stated he was facing up to a month on the sidelines.

“William trained today, so we have a decision to make whether we play him or not,” Arteta told reporters on Friday. “It’s very good news.”

Fellow defender Ben White is definitely fit to return this weekend after missing the last two games with an unspecified injury, while Bukayo Saka remains unavailable but is progressing well in his recovery from a latest hamstring issue, according to his manager.

“Bukayo is out,” Arteta said. “He’s trying to get back as quick as possible, but we need to respect that.

Working hard: Bukayo Saka is progressing well after his latest hamstring injury suffered against Leeds

Getty Images

“He's evolving really well with very specific work at the moment, and the moment that we increase that load, let's see how he reacts.”

Kai Havertz is stepping up his own recovery from knee surgery, while Arteta has revealed that striker Gabriel Jesus might not return until December or January following a long-term knee injury.

“Yeah, he's looking really good,” Arteta said on Havertz. “I mean, he's walking freely. He's starting to load that knee and starting to do some bits. Obviously, as I said before, I think it will take him from weeks to months.

“But knowing Kai, I cannot give you any timescale, because I know what he's going to try to do, same with Gabi Jesus. So I think he's in a good moment.

“It was a very tough decision for him to go and have that procedure done. But I think it was necessary and it was the right decision from the medical team to persuade him to do that.”

On Jesus, Arteta said: “Well, he had a major surgery that he was going to take in many, many months so after discussing that with the medical staff and understanding the schedule that we had and when we thought that he could be available, that it would be between December and January, we decided to make that call like we've done in the past with other players.

“Hopefully, we get it wrong and he comes back earlier but at the moment the provision was very clear.”

Christian Norgaard has been back in training as he seeks to make his first competitive appearance for Arsenal since a £15million move from Brentford in July, while Deadline Day signing Piero Hincapie has also been working with his new team-mates after returning from international duty with Ecuador.

“He's ready to go,” Arteta said on Hincapie. “He's trained two days with us.

“He's a player that we've wanted for years. With the departure of Jakub [Kiwior] as well, we needed another player who can play in that position.”