Arsenal 26yo to join England camp despite injury

Declan Rice is set to join up with the England squad despite coming off injured in Arsenal’s last game, according to reports.

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Declan Rice was forced off early against West Ham United on Saturday, having scored Arsenal’s opening goal earlier in the game.

At the time, Mikel Arteta didn’t seem optimistic about Rice’s chances of immediately returning to action, saying: “He’s not all right because he asked me to come off, so that’s a shame.

“He had a pain in his back and he could not carry on which is something very unusual for Declan so we’ll have to assess him and see how he is.”

Yet it seems those assessments have gone well, with various reports suggesting Rice is even fit enough to link up with England over the international break.

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Jordan Davies reported on Sunday that he understands Rice will join up with the England camp as planned, despite coming off against West Ham with a back injury.

Then John Cross confirmed for the Daily Star on Monday morning that Rice is expected to report for England duty today.

It’s notable that Reece James’ withdrawal from the England squad has already been officially confirmed, whilst there’s no mention of Rice in England’s updates so far. So it does look like there’s no intention for the Arsenal player to pull out.

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Rice has had a busy start to the season, already playing 10 games for Arsenal and two for England since the 2025/26 campaign got underway.

With two goals and five assists for club and country, the midfielder is in good form, and Thomas Tuchel will want to call on him if at all possible.