Both Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice were forced off during Arsenal’s draw at Chelsea on Sunday, with the duo having been called up to England’s squad for next week’s Nations League games
Both Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice were forced off during Arsenal’s draw at Chelsea on Sunday, with the duo having been called up to England’s squad for next week’s Nations League games Both Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice were forced off during Arsenal’s draw at Chelsea on Sunday, with the duo having been called up to England’s squad for next week’s Nations League games
Mikel Arteta has ruled Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice out of England’s upcoming games against Greece and the Republic of Ireland.
The Three Lions travel to Athens before hosting the Irish at Wembley next week in their final games of the Nations League group stage. But interim boss Lee Carsley now looks set to be forced to do without both Rice and Saka.
The duo were substituted during the Gunners’ trip to Chelsea on Sunday. Rice had been carrying a broken toe injury into the match and had not trained all week having suffered the problem at Newcastle last Saturday.
The midfielder was replaced by Mikel Merino with 20 minutes to go, while Saka was forced off 10 minutes later with a muscle issue. And Arteta did not have good news for England boss Carsley.
He said: “It doesn’t look good because two players of that importance tell you that they cannot continue in the game, so it obviously isn’t good news. I don’t expect them to be fit, because if they were, they wouldn’t have come off.”
England travel to group leaders Greece on Thursday before hosting the Republic of Ireland three days later at Wembley. The other central midfielders named in Carsley’s squad are Conor Gallagher, Morgan Gibbs-White, Angel Gomes and Curtis Jones
Saka meanwhile could be replaced on the wing by Cole Palmer, Anthony Gordon, Jack Grealish or Noni Madueke. Rice and Saka both struggled against Chelsea as Arsena’s winless run stretched to four games.
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Gabriel Martinelli had given the visitors the lead before Pedro Neto’s wondergoal rescued a draw for Chelsea. And following the game, Arteta lamented his side’s luck with injuries this season.
“We are still missing a lot and some of the guys out there are not in the best condition and that is all we are asking, that they are fit and available and the physical condition to play at this level and we have not had any of that,” he added.
“It was patch, after patch, after patch – a lot of players starting and not in the condition to finish games, so that is what I am praying for. There is nothing we can change today about that.
“What I am just praying is that after the international break I have the team fully equipped physically, they are available and they are fit because it has been an absolute nightmare for eight weeks.
“Issue after issue, not only the ones that are not able to play, but the ones that are able to play only for certain moments, only for certain days, not able to train. So I’m just asking that because the team, the desire that they have and how much we want it, there’s no question about that.”
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