Arsenal injury update: Declan Rice, William Saliba, Bukayo Saka latest return dates

Arsenal fans will be concerned about Declan Rice’s fitness after he was substituted against Hull City.

The Gunners were victorious 1-0 against last year’s Championship play-off winners, with Martin Odegaard netting the winner in a tense affair.

There was worry around the Emirates Stadium just after the hour when Rice, the England international, was taken off in favour of Mikel Merino on 63 minutes.

Mikel Arteta had already faced questions from the media about whether he had overplayed the No41, suggestions which he laughed off.

Declan Rice

There was concern in the north Londoners’ camp when Rice was taken off at the weekend.

The midfielder did not look in discomfort, as he was replaced by Merino, but it did come after Arteta had been forced to answer suggestions of fatigue for the former West Ham captain.

The Gunners boss, however, insisted that there was nothing wrong with his midfielder, and as such, he is set to join up with the England squad this week as expected.

“The only player, the only player in this squad that for two games in the Carabao Cup has been left out of the squad,” Arteta said, having insisted that Rice was “fine”.

“At home with two days off. That’s my concern.

“We are really looking after him more than any other season. The way he’s training and all the load. That’s it.

“Here are the demands of this football club and you have a player like him. Not only him because there are many others that have even less time.”

Potential return date: Saturday November 21, vs Newcastle (A)

Bukayo Saka

Bukayo Saka has now missed five games in a row with a quad injury that he picked up against Bayern Munich.

It remains to be seen how long he will be sidelined for, with no real timeline given for a return.

Arteta confirmed that the winger’s recovery was going well ahead of the Hull fixture, but it will still be some weeks until he can make a full comeback.

Absentee: Bukayo Saka

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”The way it happened, it wasn't a really aggressive action,” Arteta said of his forward.

“So that gives you some hope as well that the tissue will repair in a more efficient and faster way as well and he has some very good symptoms right now. So we have to wait and see."

Potential return date: Unknown

William Saliba

The French international has just returned to training after worsening a pre-existing back injury at the World Cup.

He has sat out the entire season so far having not had surgery, and he played a half of a behind-closed-doors friendly recently.

Add to that that he participated in an Under-21’s match on Sunday, on top of being named in Arsenal’s Champions League squad to face Slavia Prague, it is safe to say that the defender is very close to a comeback.

Big boost: William Saliba

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"He's in a really good place," Arteta said last week. "The process and the timings and the manner that the injury has been dealt with, especially the feelings that Willy has been having along the way, they have been very, very positive.

"His evolution has been as expected, which is not always the case. He feels really comfortable.

"He played 45 minutes behind closed doors last week. He feels ready to go. Whether we use him or not now is a matter of what the team needs."

Potential return date: Saturday November 21, vs Newcastle (A)