08 October 2023 , 20:49
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Leandro Trossard suffered a hamstring problem in Arsenal's 1-0 Premier League victory over Manchester City on Sunday.
The Belgian was replaced by match-winner Gabriel Martinelli at the half-time interval as the Brazilian marked his return to action with a priceless deflected winner for the Gunners. Mikel Arteta confirmed Trossard had sustained an injury during his post-match interview with Sky Sports shortly after Arsenal ended their wretched 12-match losing streak against Pep Guardiola's champions.
Mirror Football understands the former Brighton forward complained of muscle tightness before he was swiftly withdrawn form the fray as a precaution measure. He is now due to undergo further assessment.
Belgium are due to face Austria and Sweden in Euro 2024 qualifiers during the break and Arsenal are now waiting to discover whether Trossard and Bukayo Saka - who missed the clash with a similar hamstring issue - will be joining up with their respective national sides.
Meanwhile, the France Football Federation have confirmed William Saliba has been excused from Les Bleus' squad for upcoming matches against Netherlands and Scotland due to a toe problem. The centre-back is believed to have battled through the pain barrier to marshal Arsenal to a clean sheet at the Emirates - silencing Erling Haaland in the process.
Saliba has been suffering from chronic pain in his toe and has now been replaced by Nice's Jean-Clair Todibo following consultation between Didier Deschamps and France's medical chief Dr. Franck Le Gall. Arteta insists star man Saka will not be joining up with the England squad for matches against Australia and Italy as he was not able to prove his fitness in time for the showdown with City.
"No, he couldn't make it," Arteta said after his side's gutsy triumph. "He hasn't had a single training session so he will be out. He's not available to play football at the moment." Although Saka is expected to be excused from Gareth Southgate's squad - it is also still possible that he will be asked to report for England duty at St George's Park, even if he is unlikely to feature for the Three Lions.
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Jude Bellingham joined up with his England team-mates back in June for Euro 2024 qualifiers with Malta and North Macedonia despite being sidelined with a knee injury. Upon confirming his squad, Southgate did make it clear he was not prepared to take a "risk" on Saka's fitness - which would indicate common sense will prevail on this occasion.
Saka's absence against City marked the end of his record-breaking run that saw him feature in 87 successive Premier League matches for Arsenal. Arteta also revealed that man-of-the-moment Martinelli ignored the advice of Arsenal's physios to make himself available for the win over City.
"The physios weren't having it but he said 'I'm gonna be there, I'm gonna be there'," Arteta said. "Yesterday he turned up. He was in training. He said he was ready to go. Leo got injured and we needed him. I looked and he was dressed up and ready to go."