Arsenal star suffers injury in Carabao Cup final and immediately withdraws from international duty

Arsenal and France have been dealt a major injury blow as William Saliba has been forced to withdraw from international duty.

Saliba played the full 90 minutes of the Gunners’ 2-0 defeat to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final.

However, it has since emerged that the star centre-back picked up an left ankle injury as he pulled out of France’s upcoming fixtures against Brazil and Colombia.

Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix has been called up as Saliba’s replacement

Saliba’s injury is unwelcome news for Gunners boss Mikel Arteta, who was without fleet-footed attacker Eberechi Eze for the Carabao Cup final.

Like Saliba, Eze’s injury has forced him to miss England’s matches against Japan and Uruguay, with Newcastle flyer Harvey Barnes named as his replacement.

Speaking after the Carabao Cup defeat, Arteta confirmed Eze had sustained a calf issue and that the summer signing would undergo another scan this week to determine the severity of the issue.

The loss of Eze and Saliba ahead of the final run home is a bitter blow for Arteta as they remain in the hunt for the treble.

Arsenal remain top of the Premier League with a nine-point buffer between them and second-placed City.

However, City have a game in hand, meaning the gap could be shrunk to six points with seven league games remaining.