Arsenal injury update: William Saliba, Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz latest return dates

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Evening Standard

·1 September 2025

Arsenal injury update: William Saliba, Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz latest return dates

As Martin Odegaard returns after a knock, another player picked up a problem

Your matchday briefing on Arsenal, featuring team news and expert analysis from Simon Collings

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Arsenal’s title hopes have been dealt an early blow with defeat at Liverpool, which also saw influential defender William Saliba pick up an injury.

As Martin Odegaard made his return after a knock of his own, Saliba twisted his ankle during the warm-up, tried to continue but had to be withdrawn inside five minutes of the game starting.

The Gunners were also without Bukayo Saka, who faces “weeks” on the sidelines, while Kai Havertz has gone under the knife to solve a knee injury. There is more positive news on Ben White and Christian Norgaard.

With that in mind, here’s a look at the latest Arsenal injury news...

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William Saliba

William Saliba was forced off less than five minutes into Sunday’s 1-0 loss at Liverpool.

The defender was replaced by Cristhian Mosquera in a huge early blow for the Gunners. Asked for an update on Saliba after the game, Mikel Arteta revealed that the player picked up a knock during the warm-up, tried to continue but failed.

The Gunners boss said: "He twisted his ankle during the warm-up, and he came in and he said he believed that he could carry on and play. But straight away in the first two actions, I could see that he couldn't cope, and we had to get him out, unfortunately.

“But thank God we had Mosquera, which we put in for the first time in the Premier League. His debut, not expecting it at Anfield, and I think he was really, really good.”

Asked if he was worried about Saliba’s fitness, Arteta said: “I am because you cannot play a game of that stature. After you tried [to], that means that there is something wrong.”

Potential return date: Unknown

Bukayo Saka

Saka is set for another spell on the sidelines after picking up a hamstring injury in the win over Leeds.

Confirming the news, Mikel Arteta said: “It will be out for a few weeks, unfortunately.”

He added: “No, no surgery. It's not as bad as the previous one. Obviously, very unfortunate to kick it off, he's on the other side. It's an action that requires full power from him. Then he clashed with the opponent, he needs to change pace again. And he felt something, so it will be out for a couple of weeks.”

Asked for a possible return date, Arteta said: “I don't know. Let's see how he evolves in the next few days, few weeks. Repeat the scan and see where he's at.”

Potential return date: Late September 2025

Double concern: Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard

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Kai Havertz

Kai Havertz has undergone surgery on a knee injury, which is set to rule him out for a number of weeks.

The striker started Arsenal’s first game of the season - a 1-0 win over Manchester United - but has not been seen since.

Speaking ahead of the 1-0 loss at Liverpool, Mikel Arteta was asked about a return timeline for Havertz. He said: “It will be weeks, but I don't know how many months. Very unfortunate, very sad for him. I think he did tremendously well to recover from the previous one.

“He's never had an injury before. And suddenly this happens, but this is our profession, our football. We need to live with that. Obviously, we lose another big player for many, many weeks. But it was the right thing to do. The doctors advised and I think he was very convinced at the end that it was the quickest and the best way to resolve that issue.

Pressed on using the word “months”, Arteta said: “Every time there is a surgery you expect something like this. I'll leave that for the medical staff to explain in detail what it was. But hopefully the most important thing is when he gets back he's in good condition and maybe in a long time he'll be protected by the players.”

Potential return date: Unknown

Absent: Ben White missed the win over Leeds

AFP via Getty Images

Ben White

Ben White has also not featured since the win on the opening weekend, missing games against Leeds and now Liverpool, after coming off early at Old Trafford and missing and open training session a few days later.

Mikel Arteta moved to allay fears of a long lay-off before the win over Leeds by insisting White’s absence was a case of the Gunners deciding to not take any risks.

Asked for another update before facing Liverpool, Arteta said of White and Christian Norgaard: “So that's another two that we don't know yet. Again [on Saturday] we have another day, let's see how they evolve. And this is a chance to keep them involved in the game.”

Potential return date: September 13, 2025 vs Nottingham Forest (H)

Christian Norgaard

Arsenal’s summer signing is yet to make his debut for the club after missing the first three games of the season.

“Christian won't be in the squad,” Arteta said ahead of the Leeds match. “Christian will be out for another week or so.”

As detailed above, Arteta was hopeful of Norgaard facing Liverpool so a return after the international break appears likely.

Gabriel Jesus

Gabriel Jesus last featured for Arsenal in January’s FA Cup third round loss to Man United on penalties.

The Brazilian has struggled with knee issues throughout his stint in N5, and was forced to undergo yet another surgery on a torn cruciate ligament.

Jesus has been keeping supporters updated regarding his progress throughout the summer, and over the weekend posted footage of himself back on grass in a significant update.

Arteta recently said: “Gabi is doing super well. I think he looks in a really good place. Obviously, it’s a massive injury, and we need to come from that in a really strong way, but certainly he’s in the right place and making very strong strides.”

Potential return date: Autumn 2025