Martin Zubimendi is expected to start for Arsenal against Fleetwood Town, amid uncertainty about Declan Rice’s fitness situation.
Gary Jacob reports for The Times that Martin Zubimendi is expected to start for Arsenal against Fleetwood Town in the League Cup on Tuesday night, after Declan Rice was seen holding his right hamstring during the weekend win over Everton.
Rice was replaced by Zubimendi in the 80th minute of the match, and it remains unclear whether the midfielder has actually suffered an injury.
Rice has had a lingering hamstring issue for a while now, and he’s generally been able to play through it. But it will be interesting to see whether Mikel Arteta provides a concrete update in his pre-Fleetwood press conference.
As Jacob highlights in his piece, Rice was rested from the September-October internationals to help him deal with his lower-back and neural hamstring issue, but it seems the problem is still present.
Zubimendi suffered an injury of his own against Everton, receiving a serious blow to the face that looked like it might have broken his nose.
Yet as painful as the injury seemed, it’s not the kind of issue likely to stop him playing football matches.
Zubimendi will probably be keen to start the League Cup game, as it would represent just his second start of the club campaign so far. The midfielder has made nine appearances, but the vast majority of them have been from the bench.
The 27-year-old’s case wasn’t helped by a training injury following the recent match against Leeds United, ruling him out of the Champions League game against Lille – a game he was expected to start.
While some Arsenal players will be hoping for a midweek rest, it’s likely the Spanish international will be pushing for the opposite.
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