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Arsenal summer signing William Saliba is set to miss the start of the season after undergoing surgery for an adductor muscle injury.
The 18 year old French defender signed for the Gunners from Ligue 1 side Saint-Etienne in the summer for £27 million, but, one of the conditions of the deal is that the player would be loaned back to the French side for the coming season, as he looked to get more experience of senior football.
However, following his operation he could be out of action for up to six weeks, with Saint-Etienne coach Ghislain Printant promising not to rush him back too soon. Arsenal, as his parent club, are reported to have given their permission for the operation to proceed.
Arsenal are prepared to bide their time for Saliba, believing that he could be a major player for them for a decade to come or more, although there will be some slight concerns that he has had this problem so early in his career.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.