Further assessments of William Saliba’s injury suggest he won’t be fit to face Manchester City or Chelsea over the next eight days.

David Ornstein reports for The Athletic that William Saliba has had further assessments on his back problem, but they’ve failed to indicate sufficient progress in his recovery.

The centre-back is therefore unable to face Manchester City on Wednesday.

To make matters worse, Saliba is also expected to miss the Chelsea clash on the following Tuesday, and there are increasing fears his season is over completely.

Sami Mokbel writes for the Daily Mail that Saliba has “structural damage” in his back, which could result in a long-term layoff if he plays again this campaign.

Saliba has been desperate to play again before the end of the campaign, undergoing an intense treatment regime in the hope of returning to the pitch as soon as possible.

The player even returned to training on the grass in the last few days.

But Arsenal are keen to avoid potential future injury complications by rushing the France international back into competitive match action.

Though neither outlet are completely ruling out a comeback for Saliba before the end of the campaign, it seems Mikel Arteta needs to start planning for the possibility that it’s just not going to happen.

In all honesty, these next few games were the matches Arsenal really needed Saliba back for anyway.

If the Gunners get the results they need over the next three or four games, you’d hope the last couple of matches would be comparatively more straightforward.

If they don’t get the results against the likes of City and Chelsea, the title race may be over anyway, and risking Saliba becomes pointless.