Arsenal get huge Rice injury boost as Arteta sweats on duo for Aston Villa clash

Arsenal travel to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime but there’s optimism Declan Rice has avoided injury on a night where centre-back Cristhian Mosquera also limped off

Arsenal and Declan Rice are both optimistic the England international midfielder has avoided a calf injury despite limping off against Brentford.

The powerhouse midfielder, who ran himself into the ground in the 2-0 victory over the Bees, hit the deck in the final stages of the contest and was withdrawn with just seven minutes left to play.

Rice was spotted pointing to the back of his calf as he received treatment, however, last night there was internal confidence the 26-year-old was just suffering from fatigue following another gruelling, all-action display in the centre of the park.

After the game, the former West Ham captain was able to walk around the pitch alongside his team-mates and applaud the Arsenal supporters after the Gunners restored their five-point cushion at the top of the Premier League.

Upon leaving the Emirates Stadium, Rice also told Sky Sports News that he was “fine” though he is still expected to be assessed before Arsenal train on Friday ahead of the trip to Aston Villa on Saturday lunchtime.

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Mikel Arteta’s table-toppers will have one light training session before they travel to the Midlands and they’re now facing a nervous wait to discover whether centre-back Cristhian Mosquera is set for a spell on the sidelines.

The Spain U21 international defender appeared to jar his leg in the turf after jumping to contest an aerial ball with Brentford attacker Kevin Schade. There was no contact with the Germany international but initially, Mosquera felt some pain in his ankle and was seen hobbling around the pitch.

When he received treatment, he was also experiencing some discomfort in his knee and Arteta later made it clear during his press conference that there was an element of confusion as to whether Mosquera had suffered an ankle or knee problem.

He said: “Yeah, we have to wait and see. It’s probably part of the knee or ankle, we don’t know. He could not really tell us exactly how it was but he wasn’t able to continue.”

William Saliba was spotted shaking his head as Mosquera left the field and Arsenal are hoping the Frenchman is able to prove his fitness ahead of this weekend’s trip to Villa.

The 24-year-old picked up a knock in the final training session before last Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Chelsea and he’s yet to train since suffering the issue.

Belgian forward Leandro Trossard is also on the comeback trail but it remains to be seen whether he will be available this weekend following his calf injury in the 3-1 Champions League win over Bayern Munich.

Defender Piero Hincapie also suffered a nasty clash of heads with Bees striker Igor Thiago but he was able to complete the full game.

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