Mikel Arteta faces an injury crisis ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Wolves, with Declan Rice facing a number of players’ absence after missing out on midweek’s Champions League win.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta could bring back Declan Rice for Saturday’s Premier League match against Wolves after he was absent from the Champions League match against Club Brugge. Rice picked up a calf problem during the Brentford win, but was thought to be fit enough to play in the 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.
After missing a training session with colleagues earlier this week, he did not travel to Belgium and was also absent from Wednesday night’s successful match. Mikel Merino was introduced into midfield to cover for Rice, linking up with Martin Zvimendi and Martin Odegaard in the center of the pitch.
Despite this, Arteta said he expected the England international to be available for the match against Wolves. “Let’s take a look at him today. He was sick,” Arteta said. “Usually within a few days, but let’s see.”
Rice is not the only Arsenal player heading into the weekend with question marks, with five defenders potentially missing. Julian Timber also suffered an issue against Villa, making him an unexpected absence from the midweek win.
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The former Ajax defender left for Belgium but was left out of the squad as it was unclear whether he would feature on Saturday night. “It depends on his mood today,” Arteta explained. “It was a knock that he picked up, so I wasn’t comfortable.” Timber’s absence has further exacerbated Arteta’s fitness concerns, with William Saliba also uncertain.
The France international has been sidelined since sustaining the injury before last month’s stalemate against Chelsea. Arteta had previously suggested his return was just “a few days” away, but he has missed the last two games.
“We’ll have to wait and see. He didn’t train yesterday,” Arteta said of Saliba. “We have one more day, so let’s see if he’s free.”
Leandro Trossard also suffered a recurrence of his calf injury and missed out on victory in Belgium. Speaking ahead of Wednesday night, Arteta said: “Leo got another knock where he had problems and I don’t expect him to last long, but unfortunately he won’t be here.”
Asked about the Belgian’s availability for the game against Wolves, Arteta said: “Again, it’s a matter of a few days.” One player who is certain to miss the weekend is Max Dauman. The 15-year-old injured his ankle ligaments during last week’s behind-closed-doors friendly against Manchester United.
It is unclear how long the young prodigy will be out, but he was replaced by Gabriel Jesus in Arsenal’s Champions League side this week. Manager Arteta explained in detail, “Unfortunately, Max picked up an injury last weekend and had to be out.He underwent tests and will be out for a week.”
In other news, Gabriel Magalhães continues to be sidelined after suffering an adductor problem during the international break. Cristian Mosquera will be sidelined until next year with a “complicated” ankle injury.
It has not been determined when summer hires will return, but the layoff is expected to be six to eight weeks. “Unfortunately he will be out for a few weeks, which is much more than we expected,” Arteta said. “But the player was feeling it and will be out for a few weeks.”
Forward Kai Havertz is still recovering from a knee injury sustained in August. In early December, Arteta admitted the German player had just “a few weeks” left to recover.
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