Arsenal's injury woes deepened ahead of two pivotal matches this week against Sporting Lisbon and Manchester City. Mikel Arteta's side, reeling from a 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth, are looking to rebound in the Champions League quarter-final second leg on Wednesday, leading 1-0 from the first leg, before a crucial Premier League title showdown at the Etihad on Sunday.
Declan Rice sparked fresh concern after missing training on Tuesday, having played the full 90 minutes against Bournemouth. Arteta declined to provide details, stating: “We have to wait and see. Obviously he wasn't available to train.” Martin Odegaard also sat out the Bournemouth loss due to a “niggle” sustained in the first leg against Sporting and did not train on Tuesday, casting doubt on his availability for the midweek fixture.
Bukayo Saka has been absent since withdrawing from England duty last month and has not trained, though Arteta remains hopeful of his vice-captain's return. Jurrien Timber has missed five games with an ankle problem sustained against Everton, and Riccardo Calafiori was absent against Bournemouth after playing the full match against Sporting; he did not train on Tuesday. Arteta hinted that one of Saka or Timber might be fit to face Sporting.
In more positive news, defender Piero Hincapie returned to the matchday squad at the weekend after missing the Southampton and Sporting games due to an unspecified injury, and will push for a start on Wednesday.
