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.
- How Arsenal could reach EFL Trophy knockout stagesThe Arsenal u21s may need to win their final EFL Trophy match to reach the knockout stages, and they certainly need to avoid any form of defeat.
- Arsenal approach Mexican club over January 2027 transferArsenal have approached the Club Tijuana hierarchy to open talks over the potential transfer of Gilberto Mora in 2027, according to a report.
- Real Madrid presidential candidate looked into hiring ArtetaNew reports have confirmed that Real Madrid presidential candidate Enrique Riquelme looked into bringing Mikel Arteta to the club earlier this year, before the Arsenal boss extended his Gunners contract.
- Real Madrid & Barcelona set to pursue Erling Haaland signingErling Haaland is currently focusing on Manchester City, but speculation is growing that he could move to Spain amid his current club’s financial rule breach predicament.
- Arsenal winger ruled out vs Leeds but 7 could returnMikel Arteta’s pre-Leeds United press conference brought some good news and some bad news on the injury front, with only two players completely ruled out of the match.