Arsenal Injury Update: William Saliba And Takehiro Tomiyasu Latest News And Return Dates

Arsenal have been boosted by the return of Gabriel but defensive injuries remain for the final weeks of the season.

The centre-back returned at Newcastle, after injury against Chelsea, to help marshall the backline during one fo the Gunners’ most impressive performances in recent weeks.

William Saliba was again absent, though, as a back injury continues to plague his fight to play again this season.

Two players who are not expected to feature again for some time are Mohamed Elneny and Takehiro Tomiyasu.

William Saliba

Ahead of the win at Newcastle Arteta said Saliba is struggling to make progress on his back injury.

The centre-back is running out of time to feature again this season, and club physios are determined not to rush him back amid a risk of aggravating the issue further.

“He’s feeling better every single day but he’s still not been able to have any activity around the first-team, so we don’t expect him to be with us [at Newcastle],” Mikel added.

“It’s about the healing process. Pain-wise and with things that he can do now off the pitch, I think he is in a good place, but we have to build his capacity again to have the right impact, the right load and be in good condition to train and play for the team.

“We are not yet [ruling him out for the season], because we are always hopeful and players are always pushing to play but if that is the case then we will announce that. Hopefully that will not be the case.”

Takehiro Tomiyasu

A return for pre-season may be beyond Tomiyasu as his recovery progresses on a serious knee injury.

Arteta’s latest update on the Japanese defender described his timeframe as potentially “six months”, which would take a bite into next season after his injury in March.

Elneny is targeting a return to the Arsenal squad in pre-season following knee surgery in January.