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has added to ’s harm disaster after lacking the crunch conflict with on account of a knee difficulty.

Talismanic midfielder Rice sustained the knee harm throughout the , the place he was pressured into responsibility as an emergency right-back on account of different accidents, however was in a position to full the match and was hopeful of being match to face Premier League title rivals Villa.

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Nevertheless, the 26-year-old wasn’t in a position to get better in time and has been ignored of the squad to keep away from aggravating the difficulty additional. Though the complete extent of the harm just isn’t but clear, the present expectation is that his absence will solely be a short-term one.

“Declan acquired a giant kick in his knee throughout the match [against Brighton], in the beginning of the match truly, and by the point he completed the match he had an enormous swell up,” Gunners boss defined in his pre-match feedback for the Villa conflict. “The sport was too early for him to contemplate.”

When requested if it was a short-term harm for the England worldwide, Arteta added: “I feel so. I hope that when the swelling comes out he can perform [and] he shall be nice. We miss Riccy [Calafiori] as nicely at this time.”

Rice’s harm adopted throughout the Christmas interval, particularly in defence. was a late withdrawal earlier than the Brighton conflict, on account of an harm sustained within the warm-up, whereas likes of , , Jurrien Timber, and Cristhian Mosquera have all missed video games.

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“There’s one thing with Richy as nicely, very, very unusual,” Arteta mentioned about Calafiori as soon as he’d dropped out of the Seagulls conflict throughout the warm-up. “It is one thing that he felt yesterday, it is one thing very awkward that occurred and at this time within the warm-up, he wasn’t snug.”

Riccardo Calafiori is sidelined for the Gunners as nicely (Getty Photos)

Amid the Rice woe, there have been nevertheless a couple of positives on the teamsheet to face Villa with Timber having recovered to begin at right-back and Gabriel – whose absence since 8 November ended with a substitute look in opposition to Brighton – match sufficient to begin at centre-back alongside Saliba. That meant Piero Hincapie was moved out to left-back, the place he completed the conflict in opposition to the Seagulls.

White has additionally recovered forward of scheduled and deemed match sufficient for the bench in opposition to Villa, the place he was joined by Kai Havertz, who has been out since injuring his knee on the opening day of the season.

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“Fairly shut,” mentioned Arteta about Havertz’s potential return earlier than the Brighton recreation. “I feel will probably be a matter of days, not weeks. Let’s see within the subsequent steps how he responds to that. However he’s, once more, a participant that we missed loads, a participant that brings the group into a special dimension. So, I’m actually joyful to have him again quickly.”