At A Glance:
- Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka have returned to Arsenal.
- The Football Association have confirmed the pair have withdrawn from England duty.
- With three trophies to win, Arsenal’s injury list is continuing to grow.
Mikel Arteta and his entourage are nearing close to facing an injury crisis given that Arsenal trio Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke and Declan Rice have all returned to club’s base from England duty.
The Emirates Stadium faithful will have to wait until Saturday 4 April to watch the Gunners back in action.
They are set to lock horns with Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-finals – and that is just a few days before their Champions League tie against Sporting CP on Tuesday 7 April.
As things stand, there are a ton of players that are in a race back to fitness – the likes of William Saliba and Jurrien Timber also withdrew from international duty – as they look to win silverware.
Arsenal injury latest: Rice and Saka return to Gunners camp
Ahead of Tuesday night’s friendly with Japan, it has been announced that the likes of Rice and Saka – two of Arsenal’s biggest stars – have returned to north London.
The duo are set for ‘medical assessments’ as England call them. The Football Association, in a statement, said:
“Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka will also return to Arsenal for medical assessment, having arrived on Friday along with nine other players.
“The rest of that group comprised of Dean Henderson, Nico O’Reilly, Ezri Konsa, Marc Guéhi, Dan Burn, Elliot Anderson, Morgan Rogers, Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane.”
England, on their official channels, posted videos of the Arsenal pair arriving in camp on Saturday morning – the day after they drew with Marcelo Bielsa’s men at the Home of Football.
They were both part of the 11-man group of players who had been rested for the first fixture of the March international break.
London-born Rice trained with his countrymen – and Tottenham Hotspur’s James Maddison – at the Tottenham training ground.
Rice and Saka, 27 and 24 respectively, have supposedly reported problems to the Three Lions medical staff and they will not feature in their encounter against Japan this week.
Pictured leaving Wembley Stadium on crutches, Madueke – who joined Arsenal from Chelsea in the summer – picked up in an injury in the 1-1 draw with Uruguay.
Arsenal players continue to queue for treatment table
Rice and Saka – if their reported injuries are that severe – will join the long list of Arsenal players that are queuing for the treatment table. And that’s not ideal for Arteta and his staff members.
As mentioned, Saliba and Timber have also withdrawn from their respective nations this March.
So have the likes of Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Magalhaes and Eberechi Eze, who missed Arsenal’s 2-0 loss to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final.
While there are question marks over whether Rice and Saka are actually suffering from an injury, Thomas Tuchel claimed that he is “worried” for Madueke after he was taken off in the first half of their Uruguay draw.
“I’m worried, of course, because I think he was a difference-maker,” he said. “He started well, he was full of energy, he was ready to go. Very sad and upset and hopefully it’s not a big injury.”
