Latest Arsenal injury news as Mikel Arteta provides Declan Rice update before Sporting clash

Mikel Arteta has been given a major injury boost ahead of Arsenal's clash against Sporting CP. The Gunners will lock horns with the Portuguese outfit at the Jose Alvalade Stadium on Tuesday night as they both hope to climb the Champions League table.

Arsenal enjoyed a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the Premier League at the weekend; meanwhile, Sporting stormed past Amarante to book themselves a place in the Taça de Portugal fifth round. Speaking to reporters ahead of the tie, Arteta provided a positive update on Declan Rice, who was previously a doubt.

While the North Londoners could welcome back a big name to the starting lineup, the Portuguese champions are just one of six teams that remain unbeaten in the Champions League. The Arsenal boss said: "Everybody in the squad is fully fit and available to start the game.

And that includes Kieran Tierney, who returned to training earlier this month and is part of the squad that travelled to Lisbon. The defender suffered a nasty hamstring injury while away with Scotland at the European Championships in the summer.

"We have Kieran Tierney after a long injury, it’s great news that he’s back," said Arteta. "He’s been training with the team and he’s at the level to participate."

Meanwhile, two players have been left at home. The first of which being Ben White; football.london understands that he underwent a minor procedure earlier this month to resolve a joint problem that had been causing him problems.

Speaking to reporters, Arteta confirmed that the defender is going to be ruled out for 'months'. He said: "Ben is gonna be out for months, unfortunately. It's been different kinds of struggles. It's never been the same thing.

"We had to make a decision. It's not been improving in the last few weeks unfortunately. We know that Ben is going to push every boundary but it got to a point where we have to protect the player and we decided to do the surgery. He agreed with that and unfortunately that's going to keep him out for a few months."

When pushed for an exact timeframe on White's absence, Arteta replied: "I don't know at the moment. We have to see how he reacts post-surgery. I don't expect him to be half a year, but I cannot tell you exactly."

As for Takehiro Tomiyasu, he remains out of action with a knee injury. The defender missed the large majority of last season with a calf problem and he's played just six minutes this term. Last week, Arteta said: "Tomiyasu is going to be out as well for a period."

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