Arsenal to Decide on Saliba Surgery for Back Injury
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- Arsenal will assess Saliba's back injury when the France centre-back reports back from World Cup duty, with surgery among the options being considered
- Saliba was forced off after just 30 minutes during France's semi-final loss to Spain, where the back issue was exacerbated on the pitch
- Saliba made 50 appearances for Arsenal last season as the Gunners ended a 22-year Premier League title drought and reached the Champions League final
- Saliba admitted he had "minor niggles for several months" and deliberately gritted his teeth through both the Champions League and Premier League campaigns
- France face England in the World Cup third-place play-off on Saturday at 22:00 BST
Why it matters: Saliba logged 50 appearances for Arsenal as they ended a 22-year Premier League title wait, so a long-term lay-off from surgery would hit a club now defending that crown and returning to the Champions League. His own admission of grinding through months of back pain shows how much of Arsenal's breakthrough he delivered on a compromised body.
