Declan Rice was absent from full training on Tuesday as Arsenal completed their final preparation for the Champions League trip to Club Brugge, and he wasn’t the only one.
Declan Rice trained indoors on Tuesday rather than with the main group, according to reporters present at London Colney.
Leandro Trossard also worked away from the pitches, having been withdrawn after scoring at Villa Park after only returning from a calf problem.
William Saliba was again missing altogether.
None of the three have travelled, though the sight of Rice away from full training is the most significant given his near-ever-present role this season.
He has not missed a match in all competitions and the cumulative load has been evident in recent weeks but it is illness, rather than fatigue, that keeps him out. “Declan was ill, he was quite sick after the game [against Aston Villa],” Mikel Arteta told reporters. “He has not travelled with us.”
Trossard’s situation is more straightforward. He returned from a calf injury at the weekend but was only able to complete part of the second half before being substituted again, aggravating the injury. He is not expected to be out for too long.
Saliba’s absence will be the most frustrating for Mikel Arteta. The manager said twice last week that the defender would be back in a “matter of days”, yet the Frenchman will miss the Brugge fixture as his recovery continues.
Arsenal’s injury list remains stubborn.
Kai Havertz is not expected back in the squad until the end of the month.
Gabriel is targeting a return before mid-January from the thigh injury sustained on international duty with Brazil.
Cristhian Mosquera is sidelined until roughly the same period with an ankle problem.
Finally, Gabriel Jesus has been added to the Champions League squad for the league phase after Max Dowman picked up an ankle injury when he was playing for the u21s.
Arsenal said, “Max, who picked up an ankle injury playing for our under-21s on Saturday, will be added to our UEFA B list in January, but will not be permitted to play in any UEFA competitions for 60 days from today (February 6).”
Arteta, meanwhile, told reporters, “So first of all with Max, unfortunately he picked an injury last weekend and he had to come off. So we did some scans and he is going to be out for weeks.
“And then we have the situation of Gabi, who we were expecting to be training with us by the end of December. But Gabi has been pushing every single day and he kept telling everybody ‘I am going to be earlier, earlier, earlier!’ and he has done it.
“So thanks to his work and all the work that the medical staff have done with him throughout these months.”