Declan Rice was spotted with the Arsenal squad ahead of their Premier League clash with Bournemouth.
Rice emerged as an injury doubt for the trip to the Vitality Stadium after missing Tuesday night’s win over Aston Villa with a knee issue.
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The injury was sustained in the victory over Brighton last weekend, thus causing the England international to sit out a Premier League fixture for the first time this season.
However, Rice has raised hopes of a swift return after he was seen with the Arsenal squad on their pre-match walk on Saturday morning.
Mikel Arteta now has a decision to make regarding handing the midfielder an immediate recall, with Mikel Merino perhaps most at risk of dropping out of the starting lineup against the Cherries.
Ultimately, having Rice available will be a massive boost for the Gunners whose injury issues are beginning to clear even with Riccardo Calafiori, Cristhian Mosquera and youngster Max Dowman sidelined.
Speaking ahead of the Bournemouth game, Arteta responded when asked if the swelling on Rice’s knee had gone down: "Well not yet.
“We have another session today, let's see how he comes today and how that's feeling. It was too early [against Villa] for him.
“No, no, no, no, he managed to that.
“That’s normal. Sometimes you get a hit and throughout the game with adrenaline and because you are warm you are able to sustain that.
“And then the body reacts and it reacted probably more than we expected after it unfortunately. That’s where we are.”
Should Arsenal beat Bournemouth they will move seven points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table.
Although that may be shortlived as Man City have the chance to respond to the Gunners’ result when they host managerless Chelsea on Sunday evening.
