Declan Rice was pulled off during Arsenal’s victory over Chelsea on Sunday, but he hinted that he hasn’t been injured in a hopeful social media message.
The Gunners defeated their London rivals 2-1 to regain their five-point lead in the Premier League, but Rice’s potential injury left a bitter aftertaste.
Chelsea scored from their own set piece after Piero Hincapie headed past David Raya, but Arsenal’s goals from William Saliba and Jurrien Timber from corners were sufficient.
Pedro Neto’s red card in the 70th minute left Chelsea with 10 men, as the home team won after a fierce battle.
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Rice seemed to slow down after running back to stop a Chelsea counterattack in the second half. When the TV cameras captured him clutching and struggling to stretch, Mikel Arteta took no chances and subbed on Christian Norgaard for Rice in the 76th minute.
‘Rice Will Be Checked’ – Arteta
Asked about injuries post-match, Arteta said: “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.”
According to The Mirror, Rice did not disclose any injuries on Instagram, where he shared a picture of himself celebrating a goal with the words “keep pushing” and a heart emoji and cheerful face.
Arsenal will travel to Mansfield Town for the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday after playing Brighton in the Premier League on Wednesday.
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