Arsenal vs. Sporting: Declan Rice adds to Gunners' injury woes ahead of crucial Champions League tie

Rice didn't train on Tuesday as the Gunners face Sporting on Wednesday in the second leg of their UCL quarterfinal tie
Declan Rice added to Arsenal's injury crisis heading into their Champions League quarterfinal with the England international missing training the day before Wednesday's second leg against Sporting.

Mikel Arteta said he was unable to reveal what exactly the issue was, seeming to acknowledge that it had been related to an awkward landing in Saturday's 2-1 defeat over Bournemouth.

Arteta said Rice would do "everything that he possibly can to be with us tomorrow," but the potential absence of their most dynamic midfielder is a major headache for Arsenal as they look to hold on to the 1-0 lead they gained in Lisbon in last week's first leg.

After all, the Gunners were already stretched thin in midfield by the long-term absence of Mikel Merino and the more recent issue suffered by Martin Odegaard, who missed the defeat to Bournemouth with what appeared to be another knee issue.

Odegaard did not return to open training on Tuesday, nor did Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori and Bukayo Saka, raising fears that Arteta could be without five probable starters not only for the visit of Sporting but Sunday's trip to Manchester City, a potentially pivotal clash in the Premier League title race.

Asked whether one of Timber or Saka could be available for Wednesday's game, the Arsenal manager said, "Maybe one of them, let's see."
Arteta is yet to confirm the nature of Timber's injury, which has sidelined him since the win against Everton a month ago.

He confirmed that Saka had been dealing with an Achilles issue, "something he was carrying for a while." Having previously hinted that his No.

7 might recover in time for the Bournemouth defeat, Arteta insisted there had not been a setback in Saka's recovery.

"It is his progression, but hopefully it's going to be a matter of days and not weeks.

He has to see when he's loading more, how he responds to that kind of progression," he said.

Arteta said that those who are missing were trying to play through the pain to aid Arsenal's pursuit of silverware, which has faltered with three defeats in their last four games.

He did not, however, offer any further details on the nature of the injuries or recovery times for the quintet, excluding Merino, on whom there is less clarity.

Some supporters have expressed their frustration with the Arsenal manager over his tendency towards the vague when it comes to injury updates, one which he sees as a potential marginal gain ahead of his next game.

Arteta insists that that is not the case.

"I don't see that on the supporters at all, and I know a lot of them, so I don't have that feeling," he said.

"The majority of [fans] are so happy to see the team, regardless of who plays.

No manager, I think, gives a press conference when they give the lineup, then talks about different things.

I don't think it's the case."
As such, it seems likely to be a nervous wait for supporters to see whether the likes of Rice and Odegaard are deemed fit enough for Wednesday's game and, of course, the title clash that follows.

The absence of one, let alone both, would be keenly felt not only for their quality but for the strain it would place on those midfielders who are still fit.

Martin Zubimendi has played the eighth most minutes of any Premier League outfielder across all competitions this season with Dominik Szoboszlai and Morgan Rogers the only midfielders to have logged more.

Zubimendi visibly struggled in Saturday's defeat to Bournemouth and would hit a high-water mark for minutes in a club season by the end of next week if he played a full part against Sporting, Man City and Newcastle.

If Rice were to be missing, then it may fall on Christian Norgaard, who has played two-thirds of his 995 minutes in the FA and EFL Cups, to enter the engine room alongside Zubimendi.

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