Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice was absent from Sunday’s 2-2 Premier League draw with Liverpool due to a suspected hamstring strain, according to a report.
The England international was nowhere to be seen on the teamsheet at Anfield, and his absence was evident in the first half, as Mikel Arteta‘s men quickly fell two goals down to Arne Slot‘s side.
The Gunners eventually produced a sterling fightback to take a point off the English champions, but Arteta refused to divulge the details of Rice’s injury after the game.
Asked for an update on the midfielder and Jurrien Timber, Arteta replied: “No, we brought Jurrien in to see if today he was better but he was very clear that he’s not fit to play.”
Now, BBC Sport reports that the 26-year-old – who completed the full 90 minutes in last week’s 2-1 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of their Champions League semi-finals – is nursing a small hamstring problem.
Arsenal ‘hope’ Rice injury is not serious
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Arsenal are supposedly confident that Rice has not picked up a serious problem, but the club’s medical team are not prepared to take any risks over his fitness in the closing stages of the season.
The report does not state whether Rice will be absent for Arsenal’s final two games of the season, which come at home to Newcastle United on May 18 and away to Southampton on May 25.
However, the Gunners are on the cusp of confirming a top-five finish and spot in next season’s Champions League, sitting six points clear of Nottingham Forest and five points better off than Aston Villa in the Premier League table.
As Forest also have an inferior goal difference to Arteta’s side, Arsenal will be more or less guaranteed a top-five finish if rivals Tottenham Hotspur can avoid defeat against Villa on Friday evening.
Another stellar season for Rice has seen the midfielder contribute eight goals and 10 assists from 50 appearances in all tournaments, but he may also now be a doubt for England’s World Cup 2026 qualifiers against Andorra and Senegal in June.
How Arsenal can replace Rice against Newcastle
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As expected, Mikel Merino dropped into the left eight role at Anfield to cover for the stricken Rice, but the Spaniard’s red card in Sunday’s draw complicates matters for the imminent visit of Newcastle.
Merino will serve a one-match suspension when the Magpies come to town this weekend, and it is unclear if Jorginho will be fit for the contest; the Italian was an unused substitute against PSG with a chest injury but then failed to make the squad against Liverpool.
If Jorginho cannot cover for Merino and Rice this weekend, Arteta will have to get creative, and the out-of-favour Oleksandr Zinchenko appears to be the next best thing in the left eight role.
The Ukraine international has been deployed in midfield for his country for a while and has also been trialled in that area on a few occasions for Arsenal this season, making him the obvious emergency candidate.
Myles Lewis-Skelly is an alternative option in midfield, and Arteta does now have licence to field the England international in the left eight position now that Riccardo Calafiori has recovered from a knee problem.
Arsenal are also sweating over the fitness of Leandro Trossard after the Belgian appeared to hurt his hamstring against Liverpool too, and the Gunners have three emergency options to replace the 30-year-old in attack.
