William Saliba to avoid surgery but faces lengthy back layoff
Although latest medical tests have cleared William Saliba from needing immediate back surgery, the Arsenal defender will still miss a large part of the upcoming season as he undergoes a long-term rehabilitation process for the injury that cut short his World Cup campaign.
Arsenal and France defender William Saliba may avoid undergoing surgery on his chronic back pain after detailed medical examinations carried out on Wednesday revealed no further structural damage.
According to French outlet L’Équipe, the 25-year-old center-back—who dramatically collapsed to the turf and told teammate Dayot Upamecano “I can’t take it anymore, my back is finished” just 30 minutes into France’s 2-0 World Cup semifinal defeat against Spain, is now leaning toward a conservative, long-term rehabilitation program instead of an invasive operation.
Saliba had been courageously gritting his teeth and managing the severe lower back issue for months via powerful painkillers and heavily restricted training regimens to help Arsenal win the Premier League title and push Les Bleus deep into the global tournament.
While avoiding the knife is a massive relief that preserves the long-term outlook of his career, the decision still carries heavy consequences for his club.
As it stands, the preferred rehabilitation route is still expected to sideline the influential Frenchman for a significant portion of the upcoming 2026/27 campaign, forcing Arsenal officials to aggressively explore the transfer market for defensive reinforcements like Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa to fill the massive void.
