Saliba ‘fine’ for World Cup amid injury fears, says Deschamps

William Saliba is "fine" ahead of France's World Cup campaign and could play on Thursday if required, insists Didier Deschamps amid suggestions the centre-back is struggling with a back injury.

Throughout recent days, reports have suggested that Saliba could be a doubt for the tournament, having suffered from back pain at the end of Arsenal's season.

Saliba, who featured in 50 games for Arsenal across all competitions in 2025-26 and helped them end their 22-year wait for a Premier League title, played the full 120 minutes of the Champions League final last Saturday.

His centre-back partner Gabriel Magalhaes missed the decisive penalty as the Gunners lost 4-3 to Paris Saint-Germain in a shoot-out, following a 1-1 draw.

France open their Group I campaign against Senegal on June 16, with fixtures against Iraq and Norway to follow. Before the tournament, they face Ivory Coast and Northern Ireland in friendlies, on Thursday and Monday respectively. 

But Deschamps allayed those concerns at a press conference on Wednesday, telling reporters: "I don't know about your concerns. But William is fine, he will be managed. 

"If he had had to play tomorrow, he would play. He was ready to play. But he won't play. It's about management, as it is for others. 

"The six in the Champions League final arrived late, I will have to distribute the playing time. Now is the time to do it. The 26 players are in good conditions."

Saliba was one of six members of France's World Cup squad to be involved in the Champions League final, with Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, Bradley Barcola and Warren Zaire-Emery featuring for PSG while Lucas Hernandez was an unused substitute.

Our six UEFA Champions League finalists have arrived at Clairefontaine and joined up with the squad!  pic.twitter.com/RZ6BZBePpV

— French Team  (@FrenchTeam) June 3, 2026

Deschamps added: "Of the six in the final, five were smiling and had celebrated a lot, apparently! 

"For William, it was more difficult. Everyone had different ends of the season. I told those six, 'stop, it's over'. They will find their clubs again next year. 

"This is a common goal. The whole group must be fixated on it. When things are not going well personally with your club, the national team is good."

Deschamps was also asked about Kylian Mbappe's condition, after he endured a frustrating season with Real Madrid, failing to win a major trophy and missing time with various muscle injuries.

"He's in great shape. That's it," Deschamps responded. "Physically and psychologically. He had to talk to the players, as he's the captain. 

"There's what happened in the club season, and now it's the national team. With the group, those who were there for the first sessions, he made an effort. 

"He has experience that others don't have, this is his third World Cup. And on the other hand, there should be a response. He's doing very well."

Mbappe has scored more goals (12) and recorded more goal involvements (14) than any other player across the previous two World Cups, including a hat-trick in the 2022 final.

He is one of two players to net a treble in FIFA's flagship game, alongside Geoff Hurst in 1966, and is one of five to score in multiple World Cup finals, alongside Vava (1958, 1962), Pele (1958, 1970), Paul Breitner (1974, 1982) and Zinedine Zidane (1998, 2006).