Mikel Arteta delivers positive injury update on Arsenal trio ahead of Liverpool clash

Riccardo Calafiori and Declan Rice missed Tuesday’s Carabao Cup defeat at Fleetwood due to fitness issues

Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Riccardo Calafiori, Declan Rice and Christos Tzolis have all trained ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday.

Arteta revealed following Tuesday’s shock Carabao Cup defeat to Fleetwood Town that Calafiori, Rice and Noni Madueke had missed the trip to the League Two side due to fitness issues.

He said Rice sustained an issue during the win over Everton last week, which forced the England international to be substituted in the 79th minute, while left-back Calafiori appeared in discomfort during the final stages of the win and limped straight down the tunnel.

Calafiori has trained ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Anfield (Reuters)

When asked for an update on Rice, Tzolis, and Calafiori, Arteta responded: "They all trained today, they will train tomorrow and if all is okay, they will be available."

Madueke, meanwhile, was said to be dealing with an ankle injury, but summer signing Tzolis could return to boost Arteta’s options in wide areas, with Bukayo Saka ruled out for the next few weeks with a thigh injury and Max Dowman serving a three-game ban following his sending off at Fleetwood.

Madueke has not yet been ruled out as Arsenal look to win at Anfield in the Premier League for the first time since 2012, when Arteta was a player in Arsene Wenger’s side.

Of Madueke’s fitness, Arteta revealed: “We don't know yet, we have a training session tomorrow, let's see if he can complete it.”

The Arsenal boss was more forthcoming with updates on Saka though he refused to say whether the 25-year-old would be fit enough to feature for England at the next international break starting on November 9.

“He needed another scan to see the amount of fluid there was resolving, afterwards we will know more about it,” Arteta explained.

On the possibility Saka could join up with England, he added: “Again, I don’t know, it looks likely but we’ll have to wait and see next week.”

Arsenal travel to Anfield to face Liverpool in Sunday’s late Premier League kick off and could move back to the top of the table if they better Manchester City’s result this weekend.