Arsenal hopeful Declan Rice back injury is not serious
- Declan Rice suffered with back pain during north London derby
- £105m signing substituted at half-time by Arsenal boss
- Pain later intensified but medical staff appear optimistic
Arsenal concerns that record signing Declan Rice has suffered a major back injury have been described as "easing" in a welcome boost for the Gunners.
Rice has quickly settled in since his £105m summer transfer from West Ham made him the most expensive British player of all time, even scoring the decisive stoppage time winner in a crucial victory over Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium this month.
The midfielder has started every game this season, with Arsenal also returning to the Champions League for the first time in six years, showing his immediate importance.
But Rice could worryingly only manage 45 minutes of the north London derby because of back pain. The Daily Mail reported that the player’s movement became more restricted and his pain intensified over Sunday night into Monday morning, with those who had seen Rice trudge off the Emirates pitch starting to fears he could be set for a potentially lengthy absence.
Yet there appears to be confidence within the Arsenal medical department that won't be the case and that such pain is normal for these kinds of issues. Overall, concern he could miss multiple games appears to have faded and the England star isn't ruled out of the weekend's Premier League clash with Bournemouth or next week's Champions League encounter with Lens.
Rice will miss Tuesday night's Carabao Cup tie against Brentford, although it is likely he would have sat out that game anyway, with Mikel Arteta tipped to rotate his selection.
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