Arsenal dealt blow as star man out for 3-4 weeks after picking up injury in PL clash: Reports

Arsenal have reportedly been handed a massive blow with William Saliba out injured for nearly a month. The Frenchman came off in the early minutes of the 1-0 loss to Liverpool in the Premier League last Sunday, August 31.

According to a report in L'Equipe, Saliba has suffered an ankle injury and will be out for three to four weeks. The key defender is set to miss the start of the UEFA Champions League season, and also miss Premier League matches against Nottingham Forest, Manchester City, and Newcastle United.

The French publication's report comes just hours after injury expert Stephen Smith told Metro Sport that Saliba would need around three weeks to recover from his ankle issue. He believed that it was not a significant injury and said:

“With this, they will be able to get that right quite quickly, I would have thought. They will be able to protect it and strap it up if needed and be able to get back out there relatively quickly. It didn’t appear to be a significant sprain, we would expect to see him back out there within two to three weeks.”

Saliba went off injured in the 5th minute of the clash at Anfield after winning the ball against Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike. New signing Cristhian Mosquera replaced the Frenchman, and Arsenal have added Piero Hincapie on loan from Bayer Leverkusen for the rest of the season.

William Saliba picked up injury in Liverpool vs Arsenal warm-up, reported Mikel Arteta

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta revealed in his post-match interview that William Saliba picked up his ankle injury in the warm-up ahead of the Liverpool clash. The Spaniard said that he was worried about the injury, but delighted to have Cristhian Mosquera to cover up for the Frenchman.

"He [Saliba] twisted his ankle during the warm-up. He came in and he said he believed that he could carry on and play but straightaway in the first two actions I could see that he couldn't cope and we had to get him out, unfortunately. But thank God we have Mosquera, which we put in for the first time in the Premier League, his debut, not expecting it at Anfield and I think he was really, really good."

Arsenal face Nottingham Forest next in the Premier League at home on Saturday, September 13. They travel to Athletic Bilbao for their first UEFA Champions League game on Tuesday, September 16.