Declan Rice will be part of the Arsenal squad to face Sporting CP on Wednesday night, according to a report.
Declan Rice of Arsenal celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Round of 16 Second Leg match between Arsenal FC and Bayer 04 Leverkusen at Arsenal Stadium on March 17, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Hand of Arsenal reports on social media that Declan Rice will be part of the Arsenal squad to face Sporting CP in their Champions League quarter-final second-leg match on Wednesday night.
In addition, the same source writes that Rice has recovered from illness to be part of the squad, suggesting that the reports of an injury setback over the last 24 hours were incorrect.
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 22: Declan Rice of Arsenal gets away from Conor Gallagher of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on February 22, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Rice had missed training with Arsenal on Tuesday, leading to questions about his fitness in Mikel Arteta’s press conference later in the day.
But Arteta remained tight-lipped, saying only: “I don’t want to do that (disclose what the issue is). We have to wait and see how he is tomorrow, but obviously he wasn’t available to train.
“He’s played a lot of games and that’s part of the issue. But he’s going to try to do everything that he possibly can to be with us tomorrow, that’s for sure.”
fc internazionale milano v arsenal fc uefa champions league 2025 26 league phase md7 5
Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images
The lack of a clarification only added to the belief that Rice had suffered another injury, particularly so soon after his withdrawal from the March international break with England.
But as it turns out, it seems the midfielder was instead suffering with an illness, and has now recovered.
That’s great news for Arsenal, not just because the Gunners face Sporting CP in a Champions League quarter-final match on Wednesday, but also because Mikel Arteta’s side travel away to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. He’ll want Rice available for both games.
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