Mikel Arteta gave new updates on Takehiro Tomiyasu and William Saliba injury situations after Arsenal’s game against Crystal Palace on Sunday.

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 16: Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal, speaks to Takehiro Tomiyasu of Arsenal as he leaves the pitch after picking up an injury during the UEFA Europa League round of 16 leg two match between Arsenal FC and Sporting CP at Emirates Stadium on March 16, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND: Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal, speaks to Takehiro Tomiyasu of Arsenal as he leaves the pitch after picking up an injury during the UEFA Europa League round-of-16 second-leg match between Arsenal FC and Sporting CP at Emirates Stadium on March 16, 2023. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Arsenal completed a comfortable win over Crystal Palace on Sunday, but the fans are still waiting nervously on the results of injury assessments for Takehiro Tomiyasu and William Saliba.

Saliba is part of Arsenal’s first-choice lineup, and the injury to Tomiyasu compounds the problem of his absence, as it prevents Ben White from moving across to fill in.

Though Rob Holding did a good job against Crystal Palace, Mikel Arteta will hope to have at least one of his defensive alternatives available as soon as possible.

On that note, Arteta gave updates on Tomiyasu and Saliba following Sunday’s game, but the news on the former does not sound promising.

“We don’t know. The doctor is assessing,” Arteta said of Tomiyasu. “We have one assessment and I think they need to have another assessment tomorrow. It’s not looking good.

“Tomi is not one to exaggerate things. He was really concerned straight away and we are concerned.”

On Saliba, Arteta sounded a little more positive.

“We hope Willy is going to be better news but we have to wait ’til tomorrow to understand a better picture.”

LONDON, ENGLAND: William Saliba of Arsenal leaves the pitch after picking up an injury during the UEFA Europa League round of 16 leg two match between Arsenal FC and Sporting CP at Emirates Stadium on March 16, 2023. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND: William Saliba of Arsenal leaves the pitch after picking up an injury during the UEFA Europa League round-of-16 second-leg match between Arsenal FC and Sporting CP at Emirates Stadium on March 16, 2023. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Tomiyasu had already pulled out of international duty with Japan, and Saliba has now followed suit after his initial France call-up.

The positive angle is that the international break has come at a good time, slightly reducing the number of club matches the two players should miss.

Arsenal are next in action in 13 days, hosting Leeds United at the Emirates Stadium. It would be a big boost to have Saliba available again by then.

Keep up-to-date with the latest Arsenal injury updates, return dates and more on our dedicated Arsenal injuries page.