Injury experts revealed they hope that Arsenal will return after William Saliba was injured in a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool.
The 24-year-old limped in the opening phase of his defeat at Anfield last weekend, resulting in Saliba being omitted from the French team for World Cup qualifying over an international break.
A statement from the French national team said: “William Saliba, who started off for Arsenal against Liverpool on Sunday, was kicked out for five minutes. He cannot respect his call for the first training camp of the season.
“After a discussion with French team doctor Frank Le Gard, Didier Deschamps confirmed William Saliba’s unavailability. The national coach decided to call Benjamin Pavade as a bolster.”
What’s even more worrying is how much he will be lost for Arsenal, who has scored three points for leader Liverpool in the Premier League title race, but there’s some good news for injuries experts.
Stephen Smith, CEO and founder of Kitman Labs, claims that Saliba will have a “big opportunity” in an Arsenal match against Manchester City later this month.
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That means the only match Saliba misses will be the Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest on September 13th and Arsenal’s first Champions League match of the season against Athletic Bilbao on September 16th.
Smith told Metro:
“It looked harmless. I shouldn’t say there’s no challenge with the ligament sprain, but if it’s something like a hamstring injury, that’s something they need to be more careful about.
“This would allow them to get it right very quickly, I was thinking. They would be able to protect it, strap it if necessary, and get back there relatively quickly.
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“It didn’t seem to be a big sprain. I’m expecting to see him come back there in a couple of weeks.”
When asked about the potential returns for Nottingham Forest next week, Smith added:
“It depends on how much swelling you have and how much pain you have on the next day. The swelling is minimal, the pain is relatively harmless, and it’s going to give him a big chance.”
