Mikel Arteta responds to Declan Rice missing Arsenal training and gives Bukayo Saka update

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Mikel Arteta refused to elaborate on Declan Rice's injury after the Arsenal midfielder missed training ahead of Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Sporting CP. The Gunners boss also gave an injury update on key man Bukayo Saka .

The Gunners host the Portuguese side, looking to progress into the semi-final of Europe's elite club competition for the second successive season. Arteta's men boast a 1-0 lead from the first leg at the Jose Alvalade Stadium and will be looking to get the job done with Barcelona or Atletico Madrid the potential last-four opponents.

But Arteta could be without a number of key players for the visit of Sporting. While Mikel Merino is a long-term absentee, Saka , Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori and Martin Odegaard missed Saturday's defeat against Bournemouth and are fighting to return to face Sporting at the Emirates Stadium.

Declan Rice , meanwhile, did feature against Bournemouth but has missed team training in the build-up to the Champions League game and is therefore now a doubt.

But when asked about Rice's condition in his pre-match press conference, Arteta refused to say more on the midfielder's fitness. "I don't want to do that," Arteta said when asked if he would disclose Rice's injury. "We have to wait and see how he is tomorrow, but obviously, he wasn't available to train."

"Well, he's played a lot of games, and that is part of the issue," Arteta added on Rice, who has made 46 appearances across all competitions for Arsenal this season, scoring five goals and providing 11 assists.

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Saka hasn't featured for the Gunners since the Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City after pulling out from international duty with England, while Timber's last Arsenal appearance came a month ago in the win against Everton . Calafiori started the first leg tie against Sporting but missed out to face Bournemouth with an unknown issue, and the same can be said for Odegaard, who was substituted in the second half in Lisbon.

When asked if any of his injury-stricken Arsenal stars could return for Sporting, Arteta replied: "We have to wait until tomorrow morning to see how a few of the boys are and I will make the right decision with them."

Quizzed specifically on Saka and Timber, Arteta continued: "Maybe one of them, let's see."

Saka's injury is one that has ruled him out for the last three fixtures against Southampton , Sporting and Bournemouth. Detailing the exact issue relating to his absence, Arteta revealed: "It was something that he was carrying for a while. It was an Achilles issue."

He added: "No, it is progression, but hopefully it is going to be a matter of days and not weeks, and we have to see when he is loading more how he responds to that kind of progression."

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