William Saliba cleared to start for France at World Cup

William Saliba returned to training with the France national team on Saturday and is slated to start in the opening World Cup match against Senegal. L’Equipe reported that Saliba trained normally and that his half‑time substitution in France’s final friendly versus Northern Ireland on Monday had been planned in advance. Didier Deschamps’ squad held sessions on Thursday and Friday without Saliba; the defender only completed laps alongside Adrien Rabiot and missed the group drill. Saliba’s back problem has limited his recent training and may require an operation after the tournament, a scenario Arsenal are monitoring ahead of the 2026/27 Premier League season. He missed roughly three months in 2022/23 with the same issue and logged 50 appearances as Arsenal secured the Premier League title and reached the Champions League and League Cup finals. Images by Angel Martinez, Shaun Botterill and Justin Setterfield captured the training session.