Mikel Arteta has revealed how many games Declan Rice will miss due to injury.

Mikel Arteta has given an injury update on Arsenal star Declan Rice ahead of their Champions League clash with Inter Milan

Declan Rice will miss Arsenal’s Champions League clash with Inter Milan through injury, while Sunday’s Premier League clash with Chelsea is also in doubt. The 25-year-old midfielder played the full 90 minutes of Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to Newcastle on Saturday, their ninth Premier League match of the season.

Rice has been a near-constant feature for Arsenal, with the only game he missed being the win against Tottenham, but that absence was due to suspension for a controversial red card against Brighton.

However, Rice missed training at London Colney on Tuesday and was not included in Mikel Arteta’s squad for the trip to Milan.

In his press conference on Tuesday, Arteta revealed that Rice’s injury at St James’ Park was the reason for his absence and the midfielder will undergo further tests to determine if he is fit to play against Chelsea later this week.

“Unfortunately, Declan Rice picked up an injury against Newcastle,” Arteta said. “He was able to finish the match, but he hasn’t been good in the last few days. He won’t be available against Inter but we will assess him on Thursday and see if he is ready for Chelsea.

The good news is that Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is edging closer to a first-team return after recovering from an injury that has plagued him since early September. Odegaard, who last played for Arsenal in the 1-1 draw with Brighton at the end of August, trained as usual today before traveling to Italy with the rest of the squad.

“I’m happy to have Martin back,” Arteta said. “He trained for the first time with us, a little earlier than planned, we will decide whether he will play the next match or not.

Arsenal’s defense has been strengthened with the return of Gabriel Magalhaes to Newcastle, but defenders Riccardo Calafiori and Takehiro Tomiyasu have yet to feature. Arteta’s side have started strongly in the Champions League, taking seven points without conceding a goal in three matches.

Their upcoming opponents, Inter Milan, are also in good form, ranked 7th in Serie A and 7 points from their Champions League group. Inter started the campaign with a goalless draw with Manchester City, followed by wins against Red Star Belgrade and Young Boys to set up the much-anticipated clash at the San Siro.