Arsenal centre-back Gabriel was forced off with a knee injury during the Gunners’ 2-1 defeat to Southampton in the FA Cup at the weekend.
It is not clear whether it is the same problem that led to the Brazilian pulling out of international duty, but manager Mikel Arteta said the early indications were not promising:
I don’t know – he felt something. Don’t know exactly what it is, but we’re going to have to assess him.”
“Obviously, when a player is asking to be substituted, it’s never good news.”
Expected Return Date – Unknown
Declan Rice
The midfielder withdrew from the England squad last week, with head coach Thomas Tuchel revealing that he has been “playing through” an injury for several months.
Rice did not make the matchday squad for the Southampton game, but Arteta did say that several players were close to making the trip to St Mary’s before the decision was made to keep them at home. Rice may have been rested.
Expected Return Date – Tuesday, 7th April vs Sporting Lisbon (a)
Bukayo Saka
The vice-captain is in a very similar position to Rice. He left the England squad prior to the defeat to Japan, but there was an expectation that he would be in contention to face Southampton.
However, Saka was not involved on Saturday evening, and it remains to be seen if he will travel out to Portugal this week.
Expected Return Date – Tuesday, 7th April vs Sporting Lisbon (a)
