Declan Rice hinted he hasn't suffered an injury with a positive social media post after being forced off during Arsenal's 2-1 Premier League victory over Chelsea
07:47, 02 Mar 2026
Declan Rice of Arsenal interacts with Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal, as he leaves the field after being substituted during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on March 01, 2026 in London, England
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Declan Rice was substituted after an apparent injury
Declan Rice has suggested that he hasn't picked up an injury with an upbeat post on social media after being withdrawn during Arsenal's victory over Chelsea on Sunday.
The Gunners defeated their London opponents 2-1 to restore their five-point advantage at the Premier League summit - but a potential injury to Rice cast a shadow over proceedings.
Strikes from William Saliba and Jurrien Timber from set pieces proved sufficient for Arsenal to overcome Chelsea, who replied through their own corner as Piero Hincapie nodded beyond David Raya.
Declan Rice of Arsenal claps the fans
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Declan Rice made a two word comment on social media(Image: David Price/Getty Images)
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It proved a battling triumph for the hosts, despite Pedro Neto's dismissal reducing Chelsea to 10 men in the 70th minute. Rice seemed to pull up following a sprint back to address a Chelsea breakaway in the second period.
Television footage captured him wincing and attempting to stretch before Mikel Arteta took no risks, introducing Christian Norgaard to substitute Rice in the 76th minute. When questioned about injuries afterwards, Arteta commented: "I don't know.
"Declan had to be substituted, so he's going to have to get checked and see if he's available for Wednesday, unfortunately. And the rest hopefully OK. But we don't know," reports the Mirror.
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Rice made no reference to any injury on Instagram, where he shared an image of himself celebrating a goal with the message "keep pushing", accompanied by a smiley face and a heart emoji.
Arsenal return to Premier League duties against Brighton on Wednesday evening, followed by a journey to confront Mansfield Town in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday.
They then embark on a trip to Germany for the initial leg of their Champions League last-16 clash with Bayer Leverkusen on 11 March. It's a relentless itinerary, with Arsenal still competing in all four tournaments and vying for a potential quadruple.
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Arteta admitted that alterations will be implemented to his starting line-up for the Brighton match, considering the brief interval. "We're going to have to make changes and give opportunities to everybody to be fresh," he declared.
Raya executed some vital saves to deny Chelsea and, akin to Rice, seemed to have possibly sustained a late injury. "I don't know what happened in that action," Arteta commented.
"He had some niggles this week so I don't know if it's related to that. But overall, very happy."