Rice clutches hamstring in fan footage, raising fresh Arsenal injury fears

Fan-captured footage from Arsenal’s Premier League victory over Everton at the Emirates has raised fresh concerns about Declan Rice, showing the England midfielder clutching his hamstring and appearing to limp before being withdrawn in the 80th minute.

Rice can be seen crouching on the pitch for a sustained period, repeatedly feeling the back of his leg before moving away with what looks like a noticeable limp. He was replaced by Martin Zubimendi, and while the substitution could have been routine, the footage has prompted speculation that the change was driven by a physical complaint rather than tactical freshness.

The 26-year-old has dealt with lower back and hamstring discomfort since last Christmas. During the recent international break, Rice withdrew from Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for Nations League fixtures against Czechia, Croatia and Spain — a decision understood to be linked to workload management rather than an acute injury.

Whether his early exit against Everton signals a worsening of that ongoing issue or was simply precautionary remains unclear. Arsenal face Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup before a Premier League meeting with Liverpool, giving the club scope to rest Rice if necessary.

Rice was not the only injury concern for Mikel Arteta on the day. Riccardo Calafiori picked up a knock after coming on as a substitute in the second half, forcing Noni Madueke to finish the match at left-back. Arteta confirmed the Italian’s issue in his post-match press conference, though he played down its severity.

“Yeah I wasn’t that mad to change those two from their positions,” Arteta said. “It was because he had a slight issue, we don’t know what it is, it seems to be something very small, but he was cautious about it.”

On a more positive note, defender Gabriel Magalhaes recovered from an early scare to complete the match and score a crucial goal. Arteta was full of praise for the Brazilian’s response.

“Gabi is a great example of that because we were all scared — not because of the way he went down, but the reaction of the players that were next to him,” the Arsenal manager said. “Immediately, he says that he wants to continue, and then he scores a goal to help us win the game. That’s what we need.”