Arsenal defender William Saliba is confident that he will be fit for next week’s London derby against Chelsea after pulling out of the France squad.
Saliba played the full 90 minutes on Sunday as Arsenal beat Manchester City 1-0, but he has been replaced in the France squad by Jean-Clair Todibo due to a toe injury.
It is understood that Saliba did not pick up the issue against City and he has instead been managing it for a number of weeks.
The defender has been able to cope with the pain, but he was left out of the squad against Brentford in the Carabao Cup last month.
It is hoped that Saliba can recover further by having time off now during the international break instead of linking up with France.
The 22-year-old is one of several Arsenal players who will be staying at the club during the break to recover from fitness issues.
Leandro Trossard has pulled out of the Belgium squad after tweaking his hamstring against City on Sunday.
He has been replaced by Antwerp’s Arthur Vermeeren, although there is optimism that Trossard’s injury is not serious and his withdrawal is more of a precaution.
Gabriel Martinelli will also not be joining up with Brazil. The winger was not fit when the squad was announced last month, but he is back playing now.
UPDATE: @LTrossard is not fit to join the squad at the Proximus Basecamp on Monday. He will be replaced by Arthur Vermeeren. Best of luck, Arthur! 👏 pic.twitter.com/4lCGOoH0U9
— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) October 9, 2023
Martinelli scored the winner on Sunday against City, but he only returned to training at the back end of last week and is still getting back up to full fitness.
