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Declan Rice remains a major doubt for Arsenal ahead of the trip to Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday, with Mikel Arteta only able to offer a “vague” update on the midfielder’s foot injury.
Rice missed Arsenal’s defeat to Inter Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday after sustaining the injury against Newcastle last weekend – with some reports suggesting the England international has a broken toe.
Arsenal have picked up just one point from their last three Premier League games and could be as many as 10 points off the top of the table by the end of the weekend if the Gunners lose at Stamford Bridge.
In a major boost, captain Martin Odegaard is set to be available for a Premier League game for the first time since August after coming off the bench against Inter, but Kai Havertz and Mikel Merino have added to Arteta’s fitness issues.
Havertz sustained a cut to his head late on against Inter while Merino was suffering with an illness, and Arteta said both players will be assessed ahead of facing Chelsea on Sunday.
Arteta was unable to provide “clarity” on Rice’s fitness, with The Telegraph reporting the midfielder is prepared to play through the pain barrier after suffering a broken toe in the 1-0 defeat to Newcastle last weekend.
“I have to be vague on that one because there is no clarity if he is going to be fit or not for the weekend,” Arteta said. “He hasn’t trained yet and it is not clear whether he is going to be available or not to play.”
Arteta suggested Odegaard was ready to start for Arsenal after coming on as a late substitute at the San Siro, but Havertz and Merino’s availability depends on how they respond to training on Saturday.
The captain has missed the last two months since suffering an ankle injury while on international duty, with Arsenal struggling to play with the same fluency in his absence.
“Everyone in the squad is going to be fit and available to start the game,” Arteta said. “Then it will be a decision whether it’s too early or the right moment to make that step again.
“We have to wait until tomorrow to see how [Havertz and Merino] react. Kai was a nasty cut and we had to take him off. Mikel, since the day before, wasn’t feeling great and we decided to sub him at half-time.”
