Arsenal injury update: Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Riccardo Calafiori latest news and return dates | OneFootball

Arsenal face nervous wait over fitness of England stars

Arsenal once again head into an international break with injury concerns.

There had been positive news with the return to fitness of Martin Odegaard, and he impressed in his first start back against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

However, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice were both forced off in that match, with decisions to be made on whether they join up with England this week.

Arsenal are still without defensive trio Takehiro Tomiyasu, Riccardo Calafiori and Kieran Tierney.

Bukayo Saka

Bukayo Saka was largely quiet at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea in his 81 minutes on the pitch, before he was then forced off to hand Arsenal a fresh injury scare.

That came shortly after he had been clattered into by Marc Cucurella, and Saka had to be replaced after that late challenge.

Speaking after the match, Arteta admitted he was concerned over Saka’s fitness. The Arsenal boss suggested the winger, along with Declan Rice, is unlikely to join up with England for the upcoming Nations League matches.

Potential return date: Unknown

Bukayo Saka experienced another injury setback during Arsenal’s draw with Chelsea

John Walton/PA Wire

Declan Rice

There had been doubts over whether Declan Rice would be fit to face Chelsea, after missing the midweek Champions League defeat to Inter Milan with a broken toe.

He was passed fit to start at Stamford Bridge, managing 70 minutes before he was brought off and Mikel Merino was introduced.

Like Saka, Rice will now be assessed and a decision will be made on whether he withdraws from the England squad.

Potential return date: Unknown

Declan Rice has been dealing with a broken toe

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Riccardo Calafiori

Arsenal have now been without Riccardo Calafiori for nearly three weeks, after he picked up an injury against Shakhtar Donetsk last month.

Reports in Italy suggested that the knee issue was not a serious one, and Arteta confirmed ahead of the trip to Newcastle that the defender was likely to miss a “few weeks”.

There has been no firm update on Calafiori’s recovery, but Arsenal will hope to have him available again later this month.

Potential return date: Saturday November 30, vs West Ham

Takehiro Tomiyasu

It has been a miserable season so far for Takehiro Tomiyasu, who has managed to play only a few minutes of competitive football.

He made his long-awaited return from a knee injury off the bench against Southampton, but picked up a fresh issue in that match has been on the sidelines since.

“We don’t know that (how long he will be out for),” Arteta said last month.

“It doesn’t look like, hopefully, a long period but we have to see when he comes back how he reacts to the load and to the impact on the pitch as well.

Potential return date: December 2024

Takehiro Tomiyasu is enduring another injury-hit season

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Kieran Tierney

Arteta has raised the possibility of Kieran Tierney soon making a return to full fitness.

The left-back is yet to feature this season, having suffered a serious hamstring injury while representing Scotland at Euro 2024, but the Arsenal boss revealed ahead of last month’s win over Preston that Tierney has made big progress.

"I think he's quite close," said Arteta. "He's looking really good. I think he's over the period where he was still struggling, so he looks really sharp out there.

“He hasn't trained with the team yet but hopefully, he can do that in the next week or two."

Potential return date: Unknown