Arsenal Learn Recovery Timelines for Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke

As many as 10 Arsenal players have withdrawn from international duty this month.

Noni Madueke (left), Bukayo Saka (center) and Declan Rice all withdrew from England duty. | Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

England manager Thomas Tuchel predicted that the Arsenal trio of Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Noni Madueke would only be sidelined for a matter of days after being sent home from international duty once it became clear that the risk of re-injury was “way too big.”

Madueke was forced off in England’s friendly with Uruguay following a first-half clash while neither Saka nor Rice even made it onto the pitch. The latter two star names only joined up with the international camp after the Wembley fixture before being promptly sent home again following a medical assessment.

Five other players also left England’s squad over the weekend and Tuchel was at pains to point out: “Everyone will be out for quite some days but not dramatically.”

In the case of Saka and Rice, Tuchel explained: “We had an assessment after the match and none of them were able to stay and get any minutes, so we released them, of course.”

Madueke is more of a concern following the publication of images which showed him limping away in a knee brace. Tuchel claimed that the right winger’s “feeling” was “slightly better” than those pictures. However, the German coach warned: “He will be out for some days.”

Arsenal’s England contingent have simply followed a squad-wide trend of withdrawals, with as many as 10 Gunners all returning early from international duty through some form of injury. Some suspicious glances have been cast Mikel Arteta’s way .

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Tuchel Defends Committment of Arsenal Trio

Declan Rice (left) and Bukayo Saka will likely start for England in the U.S. | Eddie Keogh-The FA/The FA/Getty Images

Arsenal’s mass international exodus has drawn parallels to Manchester United’s peak under Sir Alex Ferguson, a coach who famously encouraged his players to value club above country. Arteta doesn’t have anywhere near the same sway as arguably the greatest manager of all time and Tuchel was keen to “get the narrative straight” regarding his England players.

“[Rice and Saka] had a medical assessment,” the Three Lions boss sternly told assembled media on Monday. “They wanted desperately to play—to just get the narrative straight—wanted desperately to be involved. But it just made no sense to take this risk.

“If it would have been maybe the last game of the season, we would have kept them and tried everything, but in this moment of the season, it did not make sense. The risk for making it worse was just way too big. They were both in discomfort, clearly in discomfort, when we did the medical assessment. So it made absolutely no sense to stay.”

Saka and Rice were not alone in erring on the side of caution during this international window.

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Arsenal’s Injury Exodus in March 2026

Piero Hincapié was one of numerous withdrawals. | Oscar DEL POZO/AFP/Getty Images

Player (Nation)	Injury	Status
Eberechi Eze (England)	Calf	Out for at least a month
Noni Madueke (England)	Knee	Doubt after one international appearance
Piero Hincapié (Ecuador)	Knock	Doubt after one international appearance
Martín Zubimendi (Spain)	Knee	Doubt after one international appearance
Jurriën Timber (Netherlands)	Ankle	Minor concern
Leandro Trossard (Belgium)	Hip	Minor concern
William Saliba (France)	Ankle	Minor concern
Gabriel Magalhães (Brazil)	Knee	Minor concern
Declan Rice (England)	Discomfort	Minor concern
Bukayo Saka (England)	Discomfort	Minor concern

Arsenal’s withdrawals can be comfortably divided into separate tiers. There is no question of Eberechi Eze feigning injury after a calf problem forced the playmaker to miss last weekend’s Carabao Cup final. Reports fear that the summer recruit could be sidelined until the end of April, missing both legs of Arsenal’s Champions League quarterfinal against Sporting CP and the crunch Premier League showdown at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium.

Jurriën Timber was also forced to miss the Wembley showpiece with an ankle problem that had already been troubling him for some days. Ronald Koeman initially called him up for the Netherlands squad only to judge that he wasn’t quite fully recovered. This is a familiar pattern.

William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães and Leandro Trossard were all spared any international duty in March after vague, mild diagnoses.

Piero Hincapié started for Ecuador against Morocco in Madrid on Friday and appeared to come through 77 minutes unscathed before getting sent home for the wonderfully non-descript task of “medical and imaging tests.” Martín Zubimendi was only subjected to a 13-minute cameo for Spain before complaining of “discomfort in his right knee.”

Arsenal return to action with an FA Cup quarterfinal against Championship opposition in the form of Southampton on Saturday before traveling to Lisbon for the first leg of that Champions League quarterfinal against Sporting. While St Mary’s may present an opportunity for Arteta to rest his ailing returnees, he will need his best squad for the trip to Portugal. Sporting have won 18 of their last 20 home games across all competitions, including the 5–0 thumping which ended Bodø/Glimt’s European fairytale.

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