Rice & Odegaard: Arsenal offer double injury update as Chelsea handed potential boost | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta will be hoping Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard will both be available to face Chelsea, however their availability is far from guaranteed.

Arsenal make the short trip across the capital on Sunday afternoon to face Chelsea in the Premier League, with the two sides only separated by goal difference after 10 games in the league campaign.

But it's European action in midweek for both sides on the top of the agenda. Arsenal travel to Italy to face Inter Milan, while Chelsea host Armenian side FC Noah in the Conference League.

But Arsenal are sweating on the fitness of Rice following Odegaard's early return from injury ahead of their Champions League clash at the San Siro.

Odegaard's return was a welcome sight for Arteta, who has been without the 25-year-old since the September international break after he suffered a serious ankle injury while playing for Norway.

"The positive news, Martin, it’s great to have him back," the Arsenal boss confirmed in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.

Odegaard (centre) has been heavily missed by Arsenal during his injury absence. / IMAGO / PA Images

"He trained with us for the first time today. He’s a bit earlier than expected. But it’s great to have him here and we will decide if we use him tomorrow (on Wednesday)."

However, as soon as they welcome back Odegaard to bolster their midfield options, Arsenal have suffered a setback with Rice, who suffered an injury in their 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United on Saturday.

Arteta has confirmed the 25-year-old, who has not travelling to Italy, will be assessed later this week before a decision is made regarding his involvement against Chelsea.

He added: "Declan unfortunately picked an injury against Newcastle. He was able to finish and he wasn’t feeling good the last few days. We’ll have to assess him on Thursday and see if he’s ready for Chelsea."

Enzo Maresca will be hoping Rice is not available for the Gunners given Odegaard is not fully fit yet and unlikely to be able to see out all 90 minutes in west London.

Maresca (left) has a potential injury concern of his own. / IMAGO / PRiME Media Images

Arsenal aren't the only club to be sweating over the fitness of a star player. Chelsea's Cole Palmer has undergone a precautionary scan on his knee after he was studded by Lisandro Martinez during their 1-1 draw against Manchester United.

The 22-year-old is hoped not to have suffered any major problem and Chelsea took the decision to get official confirmation of the extent of the damage, which they hope is minimal.

He is not available for Thursday's Conference League match against FC Noah, so has an extra few days to fully recover to face Arsenal this weekend.