Gabriel, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber latest news and return dates

Arsenal suffered defeat in the FA Cup and a fresh injury concern as hopes of a treble went up in smoke at the weekend.

The Gunners’ trip to St Mary’s started positively, from a personnel point of view with Martin Odegaard and Gabriel both fit enough to start following injury.

Meanwhile, William Saliba, Martin Zubimendi and Noni Madueke all appeared in the second half after withdrawing from their respective squads during the international break.

However, that was to be the only bright light for Arsenal as they crashed out of the FA Cup at the hands of Southampton at the quarter-final stage , missing out on a chance to right the wrongs of their Carabao Cup final loss at Wembley Stadium.

To make matters worse, Gabriel was forced off in the second half to join Bukayo Saka , Declan Rice, Jurrien Timber and Leandro Trossard as huge doubts for Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Sporting CP.

With that in mind, here is all the latest Arsenal injury news and potential return dates.

Gabriel was a fitness doubt heading into the Southhampton game after he pulled out of Brazil duty at the start of the international break.

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This was after Gabriel complained of pain in his right knee following the Carabao Cup final and it was decided between Arsenal and Brazil that it would be best if the defender did not travel to the USA for two friendlies .

The central defender was able to start the FA Cup tie and played a big role in Viktor Gyokeres' equaliser, but was off the pitch when Shea Charles found the back of the net, having been replaced in the 72nd minute with what appeared to be a left knee issue.

While Gabriel did not go straight down the tunnel after being replaced, he had ice strapped to his left leg as he sat on the bench and Mikel Arteta then issued a worrying update afterwards .

"I don't know - he felt something,” Arteta said.

"Don't know exactly what it is but we're going to have to assess him.

Obviously when a player is asking to be substituted, it's never good news."
Saka withdrew from the England squad last weekend, having joined up late after Thomas Tuchel said he wanted to manage the workload of some key players.

The winger was then rested against Southampton, potentially with one eye on the upcoming Sporting and Bournemouth double-header.

Potential return date: Tuesday April 7 vs Sporting (A)
Like Saka, Rice has returned to Arsenal for “medical assessment” after dropping out of the England squad before the 1-1 draw against Japan.

The midfielder had been allowed to join up late with the England squad, after admitting last month that he was “shattered”.

Tuchel then issued a rather worrying update on Rice last week when he said : “He feels a discomfort since quite a while, and he’s playing through it.

“He is just now on the edge, where he thinks, ‘Does this make sense, what I’m doing here, to push through with 70 per cent [fitness] and push myself and push myself?’ And the same with Bukayo.”
Arsenal fans will be hopeful that Rice is fit enough to return this week especially after the midfield looked far from secure against Southampton .

Hincapie became the final Arsenal player to pull out of international duty when he withdrew from the Ecuador squad last Sunday .

Hincapie played 72 minutes of Ecuador’s 1-1 draw against Morocco a couple of days prior, but was ruled out of their game against the Netherlands which ended in a 1-1 draw.

In a statement, Ecuador said Hincapie has returned to Arsenal “to begin his recovery process” following medical tests over an unspecified injury.

Hincapie was ruled out of the Southampton game and Arteta has said he is unsure when he will return.

Eze missed the Carabao Cup final and is facing around a month out with the calf injury he sustained in the Champions League win over Bayer Leverkusen on March 17.

Arteta said Eze would have a definitive scan to determine the full extent of the injury and his setback comes as a major blow for Arsenal.

Asked for an update on his progress, Arteta said on Friday: “Ebs is out.

With Ebs I don't know because he's a special character.”
Potential return date: Saturday May 2, vs Fulham (H)
Timber missed the Carabao Cup final with an ankle problem and then withdrew from the Netherlands squad for games against Norway and Ecuador.

He instead stayed at Arsenal to continue his recovery.

Arteta had said he hoped Timber would be fit to face Manchester City at Wembley, suggesting his injury is not serious.

Like Odegaard, Arteta then said on Friday that Timber was “in contention to possibly be in the squad” against Southampton but the Dutchman was not involved at all, raising hope of a return to action in Lisbon.

Trossard pulled out of the Belgium squad for games against the USA and Mexico due to an unspecified injury.

“This decision will allow him to continue their rehabilitation under optimal conditions,” said the Belgian FA in a statement.

It was likely that was another precautionary move, though Trossard did not travel with the Arsenal squad to St Mary’s.

Merino is in a race to play for Arsenal again this season and be fit for the World Cup, after having surgery on a foot injury in February.