Arsenal injury news and return dates after Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka updates

Arsenal face key injury concerns ahead of their Champions League quarter-final second leg against Sporting CP, with Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber among those missing training

Arsenal are grappling with several significant injury concerns ahead of their Champions League quarter-final second-leg tie against Sporting CP. The Gunners carry a slender one-goal lead as they host their Portuguese visitors at the Emirates, though they'll be without their complete squad.

True to form, Arteta offered scant detail on which players might be available for selection, but Declan Rice was notably absent from the north London club's open training session. With Manchester City looming on the horizon, it's a crucial moment for the Spanish manager to have his full complement of players at his disposal.

When questioned about whether his squad needed to battle through discomfort, Arteta responded: "They are trying to do that, and we know how important availability is in this crucial period of the season,"

"Obviously, we've been missing four or five starters now for weeks, which has an impact. So that's why we need them back, that's for sure."

Mirror Football examines when Arsenal's sidelined stars might be fit to feature again.

Declan Rice

Declan Rice was missing from Arsenal's training ahead of the Sporting CP fixture, though Arteta gave little away regarding his potential comeback. The sheer number of fixtures the midfielder has been called upon to feature in seems to have taken its toll.

"I don't want to do that," Arteta revealed in his press conference. "We have to wait and see how he is tomorrow but obviously he wasn't available to train.

"Well, he's played a lot of games, and that's part of the issue," Arteta added. "But he's going to try to do everything that he possibly can to be with us tomorrow. That's for sure."

Possible return date: Unknown.

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Martin Odegaard

The Denmark international sustained a problem during the first leg against Sporting and is yet to make his comeback. The Gunners skipper was absent from training ahead of the Champions League encounter.

Odegaard's knee complaint has previously been characterised as a niggle.

Possible return date: April 19 vs Manchester City.

Riccardo Calafiori

Riccardo Calafiori was missing from Arsenal's matchday squad against Bournemouth having completed the full 90 minutes in the first leg against Sporting. The Italian defender did not participate in training on Tuesday with scant information regarding any injury.

Considering he hasn't featured in back-to-back Premier League fixtures since December, his game time may simply be under careful management.

Possible return date: April 19 vs Manchester City

Bukayo Saka

England international Bukayo Saka is contending with an Achilles problem that has plagued him for several weeks. His return is drawing nearer, according to Arteta, though he was absent from training on Tuesday.

The Arsenal boss did confirm that Saka had not experienced a setback, however.

"It is his progression, but hopefully it's going to be a matter of days and not weeks," Arteta said. "But he has to see when he's loading more, how he responds to that kind of progression."

Possible return date: April 19 vs Manchester City.

Jurrien Timber

The Dutch defender was also absent from Tuesday's training session, but Arteta hinted that either Saka or Timber could be available for the Sporting fixture. Given Saka still requires 'a matter of days', that perhaps makes Timber's comeback more probable.

Possible return date: April 15 vs Sporting CP.

Mikel Merino

The Spanish midfielder is hoping to return ahead of schedule but is still unlikely to feature before the campaign concludes. Merino is now out of his protective boot and has responded positively to surgery, Arteta confirmed ahead of the Bournemouth clash.

"He's another one who is going to push every boundary," Arteta said. "He's out of his boot now, he's doing quite a lot of exercises already.

"He's reacted really well to the surgery, he's got no pain. It's more for the medical staff to go a bit further on that. But I'm sure there is a chance to make that period shorter. If there is a person who can do it, I'm sure that's going to be Mikel again."

Possible return date: May 24.