Arsenal defender William Saliba has withdrawn from France’s World Cup warmups against Brazil and Colombia in the United States over the coming days because of an ankle injury.
Saliba completed the full 90 minutes in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City—ending Arsenal’s dreams of a historic Quadruple—but was confirmed by the French Football Federation on Monday morning to be “suffering from recurring pain” in his left ankle.
Despite playing at Wembley, Saliba has recently been nursing an ankle sprain and was already ruled out of and missed Arsenal matches against Mansfield Town in the FA Cup and Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League earlier this month.
Treatment and rest for a minimum of 10 days is the prescribed course of action for the center back, who is crucial to Arsenal’s hopes of still winning up to three trophies in what remains of 2025–26.
Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacriox has been offered a debut France callup in Saliba’s absence and will immediately travel to the national team’s base at Clairefontaine. Once everyone has reported for duty, the French squad will fly to the U.S.
Thursday’s match against Brazil takes place in Foxborough, Mass., then it’s Colombia in Landover, Md., three days later on Sunday. Les Bleus will hope to win both matches, potentially cementing their status as favorite to win a second World Cup in eight years.
Will Saliba be Fit for Crucial Arsenal Matches?
Arsenal need a fully healthy Saliba, Gabriel. | David Price/Arsenal FC/Getty Images
It appears very much to be a case of a managed injury rather than a major absence.
The initial rest period will come to an end for Saliba at the start of April. Arsenal staff will likely be regularly monitoring his health throughout those 10 days, with the Gunners’ first game back an FA Cup quarterfinal away at Southampton on April 4.
Facing an opponent from a lower league could actually be helpful. Arsenal have exclusively played teams from England’s Championship or League One in the FA Cup so far this season and Saliba has only made a single 61-minute appearance in the competition.
The Gunners should have it within them to beat Southampton, currently sixth in the Championship after leapfrogging Wrexham in the playoffs, without some of their usual starters present.
The more challenging match—and arguably more important given this season represents a strong chance for Arsenal to finally conquer Europe—comes three days later when the team travels to Lisbon for the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal against Sporting CP.
Upcoming Arsenal Fixtures
Date
Opponent
Competition
April 4
Southampton (A)
FA Cup quarterfinals
April 7
Sporting CP (A)
Champions League quarterfinal first leg
April 11
Bournemouth (H)
Premier League
April 15
Sporting CP (H)
Champions League quarterfinal second leg
April 19
Man City (A)
Premier League
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