France head coach Didier Deschamps has eased fears surrounding the fitness of center back William Saliba ahead of the FIFA World Cup.
ESPN had previously reported that the 25-year-old would undergo scans on Monday to discover the severity of a back issue, which he suffered a few weeks ago, and that there were fears he could miss the tournament.
However, Deschamps said on Wednesday the defender’s fitness is not a cause for concern before Les Bleus start their World Cup warmups with a friendly against Ivory Coast on Thursday in Nantes, where Saliba is not expected to play a part.
“William is fine and will be managed. If he had needed to play tomorrow, he would have played,” Deschamps told a news conference.
Saliba played 50 of a possible 63 matches for Arsenal this season, becoming a key man in his side’s Premier League triumph and run to the Champions League final.
The two-time world champions will also take on Northern Ireland on June 8 in Lille before jetting off to North America, where their World Cup campaign kicks off against Senegal on June 16.
Asked if he already has an XI in mind for their first match of the tournament, Deschamps said: “Of course I do, yes. But you never know. There will be two matches between now and then, things can happen.
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“They all want to be in the starting lineup. We’ll be mindful of the frustration that this can create. Also, because of the specific situation in the United States, the gap between each match, we’ll learn other things.”
Deschamps will carefully manage Paris Saint-Germain stars Ousmane Dembélé, Bradley Barcola, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Désiré Doué and Lucas Hernández — particularly those who started Saturday’s Champions League final.
“I’ll have to manage playing time, distribute the players, even if it goes against the team’s wishes,” Deschamps said. “All 26 players are in good condition. This warmup match is one step with another in four days against Northern Ireland.”
France are in Group I for this summer’s tournament, joined by Senegal, Iraq and Norway.
Information from PA contributed to this report.
