William Saliba was being assessed ahead of Arsenal’s game against Crystal Palace and he sadly failed a fitness test meaning he misses the game.

LISBON, PORTUGAL: William Saliba of Arsenal FC thanks the supporters in the stands after the UEFA Europa League round of 16 first leg match between Sporting CP and Arsenal FC at Estadio Jose Alvalade on March 9, 2023. (Photo by Carlos Rodrigues/Getty Images)
LISBON, PORTUGAL: William Saliba of Arsenal FC thanks the supporters in the stands after the UEFA Europa League round of 16 first leg match between Sporting CP and Arsenal FC at Estadio Jose Alvalade on March 9, 2023. (Photo by Carlos Rodrigues/Getty Images)

William Saliba was withdrawn from Arsenal’s match against Sporting CP on Thursday with an apparent back problem, but there has been little clarity since the game on the severity of the issue.

Ryan Taylor reported on Friday afternoon that Arsenal would asses Saliba’s back issue over the following 48 hours, listing the defender as a doubt for the Crystal Palace clash, but not ruling him out.

The Daily Mail then confirmed on Saturday morning that Arsenal would assess Saliba ahead of the Palace game, but again, they didn’t rule him out of the fixture.

The French international was seen as a doubt this stage, rather than a confirmed absentee but as Saturday evening wore on it was not looking good:

Not long after that tweet was posted it was reported that Saliba had failed a fitness test.

The Frenchman has also withdrawn from the France squad due to the injury and is expected to be out for ‘several weeks’ based on the report from France.

Saliba was not named in Arsenal’s squad for the game against Crustal Palace with Rob Holding coming into the side

Arsenal XI vs Crystal Palace

Ramsdale, White, Holding, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Partey, Xhaka, Odegard, Saka, Martinelli, Trossard

Arsenal bench vs Crystal Palace

Turner, Tierney, Walters, Kiwior, Jorginho, Vieira, Smith Rowe, Nelson, Jesus

In other injury news, Gabriel Magalhaes, Leandro Trossard, and Oleksandr Zinchenko seemed to have minor issues during the Sporting game, but the trio are all fine.

Gabriel Jesus’ substitution was pre-planned, so there’s no concern there either.

LISBON, PORTUGAL - MARCH 09: William Saliba of Arsenal celebrates after scoring the team's first goal during the UEFA Europa League round of 16 leg one match between Sporting CP and Arsenal FC at Estadio Jose Alvalade on March 09, 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal. (Photo by Carlos Rodrigues/Getty Images)
LISBON, PORTUGAL: William Saliba of Arsenal celebrates after scoring the team’s first goal during the UEFA Europa League round-of-16 leg one match between Sporting CP and Arsenal FC at Estadio Jose Alvalade on March 09, 2023. (Photo by Carlos Rodrigues/Getty Images)

The one player who will definitely be joining Mohamed Elneny and Eddie Nketiah on the absentee list this weekend is Takehiro Tomiyasu – who left the Emirates Stadium on crutches on Thursday.

Again, there’s no timeframe on Tomiyasu’s absence just yet, but he’s not going to be fit for the Palace game.

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