Arsenal\u2019s William Saliba will not have surgery on a back injury and will have an \u201cextended period\u201d on the sidelines, the club has confirmed.<\/p>\n
The 25-year-old defender was substituted after half an hour of France\u2019s 2-0 World Cup semi-final defeat to Spain<\/a>, having started in all bar one match at the tournament.<\/p>\n The defender went down in a seemingly innocuous moment, kicked the ball out of play and called for medical attention.<\/p>\n Partly as a consequence of Saliba\u2019s situation, Arsenal are in the market for a central defender this summer.<\/p>\n England defender John Stones, who left Manchester City last month when his contract ended, is among the targets.<\/p>\n Aston Villa\u2019s Ezri Konsa, as reported in the Transfer DealSheet<\/a>, is also of interest, though there is a significant gap between Arsenal and Villa\u2019s valuations.<\/p>\n Stones, 32, left City following a decade at the club. He joined City in the same summer as Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, and worked alongside him for three years during the latter\u2019s stint as City assistant manager. The England international made five appearances for his country at the 2026 World Cup, starting three games.<\/p>\n