Arsenal centre-back William Saliba withdraws from the France squad for October’s games against the Netherlands and Scotland due to a toe injury.
Arsenal centre-back William Saliba has pulled out of the France squad for October’s internationals due to a toe injury.
The former Saint-Etienne youngster was plagued by a serious back injury towards the end of the 2022-23 season, and the Gunners’ title challenge fell apart during his lengthy absence.
However, Saliba has returned to form his menacing partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes, which was crucial in propelling Arsenal to a 1-0 win over treble winners Manchester City in Sunday’s Premier League clash.
The 22-year-old has featured in 11 of the Gunners’ 12 games this season – only sitting out their EFL Cup third-round win over Brentford – and he has not missed a single minute during Arsenal’s unbeaten start to the league campaign.
Following Sunday’s long-awaited Premier League win over Man City – who had beaten Arsenal 12 times in a row in the top flight before this weekend – Saliba was due to join up with his France teammates for October’s fixtures with the Netherlands and Scotland.
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However, the French Football Federation revealed on Sunday evening that Saliba was carrying a “chronic” injury in his big toe, and the 2001-born defender would not be involved for his country this month.
In his place, Didier Deschamps has called up Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo, whom Saliba partnered in the heart of the Nice backline during a loan spell in the second half of the 2020-21 season.
Todibo – who is preferred to Chelsea’s Axel Disasi – returns to the Bleus squad just a month after he was called up to replace the injured Ibrahima Konate, and he subsequently earned his debut in a 2-1 friendly loss to Germany.
“William Saliba is not able to participate in the gathering of the French team. The Arsenal defender suffers from pain in his right big toe. He will remain available to his club to treat this chronic injury,” the FFF said in a statement.
“After speaking with Dr. Franck Le Gall, the French team doctor, Didier Deschamps noted William Saliba’s withdrawal and decided to replace him with Jean-Clair Todibo.”
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Saliba joins the likes of Christopher Nkunku, Presnel Kimpembe and Wesley Fofana on the France injury list as Les Bleus prepare to resume Euro 2024 qualifying duties against the Netherlands on October 13, four days before a friendly game against Scotland in Lille.
Deschamps’s men sit top of Euro 2024 qualifying Group B with five wins from their opening five games, while Arsenal’s success over Man City saw the Gunners rise to second in the Premier League table, only behind leaders Tottenham Hotspur on goal difference.
Following the confirmation of Saliba’s France withdrawal, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta also stated that Bukayo Saka would not be able to play for England this month owing to the hamstring injury he sustained against Lens in the Champions League.
The Spaniard also revealed that Leandro Trossard suffered his own hamstring problem on Sunday as he came off at half time to be replaced by Gabriel Martinelli, who scored the game’s only goal with an 86th-minute deflected strike off of Nathan Ake.
Both Martinelli and Thomas Partey (groin) played their first minutes for the Gunners on Sunday since their respective recuperations, but Jurrien Timber is still on the long road to recovery from his ACL injury.
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