Arsenal defender William Saliba has been forced to withdraw from the France squad due to a toe injury. The 22-year-old put in an outstanding performance as Arsenal defeated Manchester City 1-0 at the Emirates on Sunday, propelling them to joint leadership in the Premier League alongside Tottenham.
Saliba, partnered with teammate Gabriel Magalhaes, played a pivotal role in silencing Erling Haaland and securing Arsenal’s first Premier League victory over City since 2015. However, shortly after the final whistle, the French Football Federation confirmed that the centre-back would be replaced by Nice star Jean-Clair Todibo in Didier Deschamps’ squad for the upcoming European qualifier against the Netherlands and the friendly match against Scotland.
A statement from the federation described Saliba’s injury as ‘chronic’ and revealed that he would be staying in north London during the international break for treatment and recovery.
‘William Saliba is not able to participate in the gathering of the French team which begins this Monday, October 9 and which will see the Blues face the Netherlands in Amsterdam, Friday 13 in the part of qualifying for Euro 2024, then Scotland, on Tuesday November 17, in a friendly, at the Décathlon Arena – Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Lille Métropole.
‘The Arsenal defender suffers from pain in his right big toe. He will remain available to his club to treat this chronic injury.
‘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.
‘The latter is expected at Clairefontaine on Monday at noon, like all the selected players.’
He is now the second Arsenal player to withdraw from upcoming international duty, following Bukayo Saka, who is set to miss England’s upcoming matches against Australia and Italy. Saka, who was not part of the Sunday match against City, had to leave the field during the first half of the Champions League encounter against Lens on Tuesday due to injury, and was not included in the squad against City.
