LONDON -- William Saliba has returned to full training at Arsenal, 3½ months after his last game -- in the World Cup semifinals for France.
Saliba has been out of action with a back injury that didn't require surgery but an extended period of rehabilitation, Arsenal said in July.
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The center back took part in a training session on Tuesday, a day before Arsenal's Champions League match at Slavia Prague, and manager Mikel Arteta said in a pre-game news conference hours later that Saliba "is in a really good place."
"His evolution has been as expected, which is not always the case" Arteta said. "He feels very comfortable. He played 45 minutes behind closed doors last week. He feels ready to go now, so whether we use him or not is a matter of what the team needs."
Saliba hasn't played since being substituted during the first half of France's 2-0 semifinal loss to Spain at the World Cup.
Saliba has struck up an impressive, years-long center-back partnership with Gabriel Magalhães that was key to Arsenal winning the Premier League last season.
However, despite his ball-playing qualities and excellent reading of the game, Saliba might not be rushed back into the first team.
That's because the man who has replaced Saliba -- summer signing Ezri Konsa -- has put in a slew of strong performances and Arteta might not be ready to break up that combination just yet.
One option could be to switch Konsa to right back, where he occasionally has played for former club Aston Villa and England. Arteta also has Jurriën Timber and Ben White as options at right back.
Asked if he saw it as a "problem" that all three center backs were now available, Arteta said with a laugh: "So far we haven't had that luxury. I wouldn't call it a problem.
"We are going to have the opportunity to ... manage the congestion of the players in a much better way than we have actually done it."