Declan Rice was absent from Arsenal's Carabao Cup squad for the defeat to Fleetwood Town because of an unspecified injury, not because he was being rested, manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed.
Rice has been a regular for Arsenal this season, and the only game he had missed across any competition before Tuesday night was the third-round win over Ipswich last month. His absence from the matchday squad against Fleetwood was initially expected to be a precaution ahead of Sunday's Premier League trip to Liverpool at Anfield.
However, Arteta revealed after the penalty shootout loss that the midfielder was struggling with a problem, having taken part in training on Monday.
Arteta's update on Rice and other absentees
Speaking after the defeat at Highbury Stadium, Arteta said: "Declan was feeling a problem the other day, which is why I had to substitute him."
Riccardo Calafiori and Noni Madueke were also missing from the Arsenal squad, with neither spotted in Monday's training session. Arteta confirmed both are dealing with injuries, adding: "Calafiori was out, Noni was out with an ankle."
It remains to be seen whether any of the trio will be available to face Liverpool at the weekend, with a further update expected when Arteta addresses the media in the pre-match press conference.
Arteta reflects on the defeat
On the result, Arteta said: "First of all, congratulations to Fleetwood. In the manner they did it, the atmosphere they created. I have nothing to fault the players for their attitude and intensity throughout the game, with 11 and with 10, but when you are playing in that superior way, you have to give nothing to the opponent."
He added: "When we create the volume of shots and chances we did, you have to score three, four or five. You capitalise on it. If you don't, there are no margins, and that's the reality. Then you have to wait and get through the round on penalties, and we didn't do that. The probability was low with the way the game was panning out, but it's football and still with low probability, there is always a chance you could be out of the cup."
