Renée Slegers says the club have a plan in place, although the timetable has already shifted and will continue to depend on how van Domselaar responds.
Arsenal have October ‘in mind’ for Daphne van Domselaar’s return as the goalkeeper continues her recovery from a knee procedure carried out during the 2026 off-season.
Van Domselaar has not featured this season, with the club providing little indication until now of when she might be available again.
Arsenal said on 23 August that the goalkeeper had been left out of the pre-season squad against Paris FC but was “progressing well after undergoing a procedure on her knee in the off season.”
The club repeated that position three days later when she also missed the final pre-season friendly against Charlton Athletic.
Speaking ahead of Arsenal Women’s game against Manchester United on Saturday, Renée Slegers offered the clearest indication yet of when Van Domselaar could return.
“At the moment, it’s hard to tell [when she will return],” Slegers said.
“October is in our minds somewhere, but we still have to look at how the new response is.
“Day by day, there is a plan in place, but that plan has been changed several times now. October will be great, but let’s see where it goes. Daphne is working really hard in the background with the medical team.”
The current knee problem is separate from the quad-tendon issue Van Domselaar was managing late in 2025.
Arsenal will also be without Katie Reid and Michelle Agyemang against Manchester United.
Both are recovering from ACL injuries suffered a month apart late in 2025 and should be closing in on a return.
There is also a fresh concern over Elisa de Almeida, who picked up a muscular problem during the week.
Slegers has ruled the summer signing out of Saturday’s game but did not give any further details about the nature of the problem or how long she could be unavailable.
As always, you can keep up to date with the latest Arsenal injury news on our dedicated Arsenal injury page here.
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