Declan Rice missed Arsenal’s training on Tuesday ahead of their Champions League quarter-final second leg against Sporting CP, and Mikel Arteta spoke about the situation.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta talks about Declan Rice (Image: PA)
Mikel Arteta has refused to give details about Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice’s injury after the midfielder missed training ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg against Sporting CP. The Gunners manager also announced the injury status of key man Bukayo Saka.
The Gunners host the Portuguese team as they aim to reach the semi-finals of Europe’s elite club competition for the second consecutive season. Arteta’s side had a 1-0 lead in the first leg at the Jose Alvalade Stadium and will be aiming for success against either Barcelona or Atletico Madrid, who could advance to the last four.
However, Arteta could be without a number of key players for Sporting’s visit. Mikel Merino is on a long-term absence, while Saka, Julian Timber, Riccardo Calafiori and Martin Odegaard missed Saturday’s loss to Bournemouth and will be fighting to return for the game against Sporting at the Emirates Stadium.
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Meanwhile, Declan Rice featured against Bournemouth but missed team training in the build-up to the Champions League game and is now a doubt as a result.
However, when asked about Rice’s condition in his pre-match press conference, Arteta refused to say more about the midfielder’s condition. Asked if he would reveal Rice’s injury, Arteta said: “I don’t want to do that.” “We’ll have to see how he does tomorrow, but obviously he wasn’t fit to train.”
“Well, he’s played a lot of games and that’s part of the problem,” Arteta added of Rice, who has scored five goals and provided 11 assists in 46 games for Arsenal this season.
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Rice is doubtful for Arsenal’s game against Sporting CP on Wednesday after missing training along with five others (Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Saka declined his England duties and has not featured for the Gunners since the Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City, while Timber’s last appearance for Arsenal was in the win over Everton a month ago. Calafioli started the first leg against Sporting, but the same goes for Odegaard, who missed the match against Bournemouth due to an unknown issue and was substituted in the second half against Lisbon.
Asked if any of Arsenal’s injury-plagued stars could return to Sporting, Arteta said: “We have to wait until tomorrow morning to see how some players are doing, but I will work with them to make the right decision.”
Asked specifically about Saka and Timber, Arteta said: “Maybe one of them, let’s see.”
Saka missed the last three matches against Southampton, Sporting and Bournemouth due to injury. Arteta elaborated on the exact issue surrounding his absence, revealing: “It was a problem he had for a while. It was an Achilles problem.”
He added: “No, it’s progress. But I hope it’s a matter of days rather than weeks. We’ll have to see how he reacts to such progress as we add more load.”
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