William Saliba was carrying his current toe injury even before Arsenal played against Tottenham Hotspur, according to a report.

William Saliba pulled out of international duty last Sunday with a toe injury, having originally been called up by Didier Deschamps for the French national team.

But the injury was reportedly not a new one. Saber Desfarges of French outlet Telefoot reports that Saliba had to have an injection to play against Manchester City, helping him with the pain.

Football insider Team News and Ticks reports that Saliba had been carrying the injury for a while, suffering it before the game against Tottenham Hotspur and aggravating the problem in that fixture.

Whilst Team News and Ticks couldn’t confirm whether Saliba played with an injection last Sunday, the good news is that they added that it shouldn’t be a long-term issue.

Deschamps told the media that Saliba has a chronic problem causing him “significant pain” which hasn’t been improving, and he withdrew from the French camp to undergo a specific rehabilitation routine.

Saliba has only missed one of the last five games, the League Cup match immediately following the north London derby.

But all sources are in agreement that he’s been carrying something, and the international break has come at a good time to address it.

France do have one important Euro 2024 qualifier over the international break, facing off against the Netherlands for the chance to effectively guarantee qualification with a win.

But their other game is a friendly against Scotland, and Saliba recently admitted that he’s not in France’s first-choice lineup right now.

Pulling out of the break for the sake of his long-term fitness seems like a smart plan.