Arsenal’s record summer signing Declan Rice was withdrawn at half-time of the north London derby at the weekend, with Mikel Arteta confirming afterwards that the midfielder was struggling with a back issue.
Sami Mokbel then reported for the Daily Mail that Rice’s movement became more restricted as his pain intensified overnight, but the news has been much more positive since then.
Such pain is reportedly not uncommon for back injuries, and Mokbel added that concerns that the injury is serious were easing on Monday afternoon.
Nick Ames wrote for The Guardian that the injury is not serious, and the player hopes to be back for the visit to Bournemouth on Saturday.
Art de Roche added for The Athletic that Rice is still in some pain, and he’ll continue to be assessed and treated in the coming days. But tests have confirmed no serious injury.
Football.London described the injury as a “minor one”, and both they and Sky Sports’ Lyall Thomas reiterated that Rice could be in action again by the weekend.
Rice has started every Arsenal game this season, for a total of eight appearances in all competitions.
The former West Ham man also played both England games over the international break, putting him in double figures for starts already.
But this is nothing unusual for the 24-year-old, after he played 50 club games last season.
With any luck, he’ll bounce back and return to Mikel Arteta’s side by the end of the week.