Declan Rice injury update | OneFootball

Declan Rice was a notable absentee from Arsenal’s matchday squad as they faced Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, with the club offering no further details beyond the confirmation that he was “injured” but it is believed he has suffered a hamstring injury.

He is now a serious doubt for the game against Newcastle.

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The absence of the 26-year-old midfielder, who has been ever-present in Mikel Arteta’s side since his £105 million move from West Ham United in the summer of 2023 was unexpected.

Speaking ahead of the game, Arteta confirmed that both Rice and Jurrien Timber had failed to recover in time. “Him and Jurrien are not fit, Declan couldn’t even train so he’s injured unfortunately and couldn’t make the game,” the Arsenal manager told reporters.

There was no clarification on the nature or severity of the injury, with the club’s official communication offering only the minimal: “Declan Rice misses out through injury.” Sky Sports added it was “on doctor’s advice”.

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Since joining Arsenal, Rice has missed just two matches through injury prior to this, both due to a broken toe in November 2024. In fact, his durability has been one of the hallmarks of his career.

He has never suffered a long-term injury and the only other spell out came in 2019 when he missed seven games due to illness while still at West Ham.

Speaking after the match against Liverpool, in which Arsenal lost Leandro Trossard to what appears to be a hamstring injury and Mikel Merino to suspension after his second yellow, Arteta told reporters, “After losing Leo and Merino, with Rice struggling, and none of the other injured players back, we will field 11 players against Newcastle”.

About the game itself, which saw Arsenal recover from a shambolic first half to claim a 2-2 draw with 10 men, Arteta said, “What we did in the first half is nowhere near the level so to do it after that is not acceptable. We reacted, great but it is unacceptable.

“You don’t have to be fighting for trophies and then you might win or lose it. That’s the level you need.

“No-one can promise you win. You’re going to have six, seven teams who pray to be in the Champions League next year and then you see.

“The action that we had after 20, 25 minutes. When the team plays like this, that’s on me.

“It’s not about the players. It’s about we. No-one accepts those standards. It has to hurt a lot. Six times we played with 10 men this season. Look at what we can do when we are there.”