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William Saliba faces yet another spell on the sidelines after suffering a broken foot in his Saint-Etienne side's 1-0 victory over Monaco at the weekend.

The 18-year-old centre-back joined Arsenal for a fee of £27m from the French club during the summer but was immediately sent back on a season-long loan.

He has suffered a frustrating campaign so far, missing the start of the season while he recovered from an abductor muscle injury.

He has been an ever-present in the team since returning from that injury at the end of September, helping his side keep three clean sheets and move to eighth in Ligue 1.

(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

But after the match against Monaco St Etienne released a statement on their official website confirming Saliba had broken his fifth metatarsal, an injury which could keep him out for a number of weeks.

The statement read: "William Saliba, victim of an injury against Monaco last Sunday, suffered a crack in his fifth metatarsal and will miss the confrontation against Oleksandriya in the Europa League."

The news will come as a blow to Arsenal manager Unai Emery, who had decided Saliba could benefit with gaining extra experience in France before progressing to his first-team squad.

Speaking about the decision to be sent back to Saint-Etienne, Saliba said: "Well, it was important first of all because I wanted to prove myself for another year at Saint-Etienne, before I come to try and establish myself here at Arsenal.

(Image: Stuart MacFarlane)

"This is a big club, and when you come here, you need to be ready.

"So I'm going to try and have a great season with the club that developed me in order to be ready for Arsenal."

The Gunners next face a tricky-looking trip to Leicester City in the Premier League, and may have to do so without Dani Ceballos , who went off holding his hamstring during his side's 1-1 draw with Vitoria in the Europa League on Wednesday.