Arsenal monitoring Declan Rice injury amid concerns over cause

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Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice was substituted at half-time against Tottenham Hotspur due to injury.

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice sustained a back injury during the Gunners’ recent north London derby clash against Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium.

Now, as reported by the Daily Mail, the north London club’s medical staff are keeping a close eye on the £105 million man’s condition and are planning to monitor the state of his back going forward.

There is a concern that his issue could be related to, or caused by a problem in, other areas of the 24-year-old’s body. However, initial tests suggest that Rice won’t be sidelined for long. There is optimism that he could be back in time to face Manchester City on October 8th.

In the meantime, though, he will certainly miss out on this evening’s EFL Cup third round meeting with Brentford. Speaking ahead of this match, Mikel Arteta said, “Declan hasn’t trained yet. He could not carry on in the game, he wasn’t comfortable at all. Hopefully it’s not something big. We are confident. He’s still uncomfortable, obviously he had to leave the pitch and that’s never a good sign for a player like him, but hopefully he will progress in the next few days. It’s a tough one,” as quoted by the club’s official website.

Arsenal must handle Rice situation smartly

Rice could also miss out on Saturday’s Premier League clash with Bournemouth, and the Gunners’ upcoming Champions League fixture against Lens. However, in Jorginho and Mohamed Elneny, Arsenal ought to have enough midfield options to see them through these matches.

It is vital that Rice isn’t rushed back into the team too quickly. Whilst his absence will be felt on the pitch, it is far better for the 45-cap England international to miss a couple of games now than be out of action for a longer period because he was brought back too quickly and exacerbated the issue.

It is crucial that the club handle this situation delicately and with the long-term availability of the player in mind. Losing Rice for a significant period of the season would be a devastating blow to the club’s ambitions for this campaign.