Arsenal have been handed a major boost in their injury crisis with Declan Rice returning to training ahead of their Champions League clash with Sporting Lisbon.
Rice was one of a number of Gunners players to pull out of international duty over the last fortnight, and missed his side’s FA Cup defeat by Southampton alongside some of his team-mates.
William Saliba, Noni Madueke and Martin Odegaard all featured after injury scares in recent weeks, while Gabriel limped off. The Brazilian, though, is understood to have trained on Monday.
Absent, however, were Bukayo Saka, Jurrien Timber, Eberechi Eze and Piero Hincapie. All four players remain doubts for the game against Sporting in Portugal on Tuesday.
Saka and Rice had both initially joined up with England in the break, but swiftly withdrew from the squad with discomfort. Whilst Saka may not feature on Tuesday, Rice could play a part.
It could see the £105million midfielder join up with Martin Zubimendi and Martin Odegaard in midfield as the Gunners look to progress in one of the two competitions they can still win this season.
Declan Rice (centre) has returned to Arsenal training, but the likes of Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze (second right and right) remain out
Arteta said of his star man last week: ‘Yeah, he’s been phenomenal because that’s been going on for a while and the fact that he’s been able to perform and consistently commit to the team in that manner.
‘He talks about how much he wants to play for us and how much he wants to win, and that’s great to see.’
Timber is understood to be still suffering with discomfort from the hip injury he suffered against Everton, with Arteta saying he could have been fit for the Southampton clash.
He said of Eze: ‘Ebz is out. With Ebz I cannot put a finger (on a return date) because I don’t know, because he’s a special character.’
Arsenal face a busy season run-in but their schedule has been eased after their shock defeat by Championship Southampton at the weekend.
While they hope to progress in the Champions League, they are nine points clear at the top of the Premier League with seven games left to play.
