William Saliba: Arsenal to assess defender’s back injury with surgery

Arsenal William Saliba will have his back injury assessed when he returns to the club after his World Cup duty.

The France centre-back has been suffering from back problems for several weeks and has carried the problem into the World Cup.

At this time, the matter has become more prominent France’s semi-final loss to Spain When he was forced out after just 30 minutes.

Surgery is one of the options the Gunners will consider once they return to London, although an operation would likely require a longer period of time off to recover.

The 25-year-old has made 50 appearances in all competitions Arsenal Last season, they reached the Champions League final, ending a 22-year wait to win the Premier League.

Ahead of the World Cup, Saliba said: “I had some minor problems for a few months.

“I was gritting my teeth because there was the Champions League and the Premier League.

“The World Cup comes once every four years, so you have to grit your teeth.”

He missed France’s final group game against Norway before returning to Didier Deschamps’ side in the knockout stages.

England face France in the third-place play-off on Saturday (22:00 BST).