Declan Rice is expected to miss Arsenal’s match against Aston Villa on Tuesday evening after sustaining a knee injury in Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion.

Rice, who started the game at right-back, picked up a knee issue during the match but was able to play on and remained hopeful of being fit to face Villa.

Despite the best efforts of player and staff, Rice appears not quite ready, and it looks likely he will be left out in order to avoid the risk of aggravating the issue further. While the full prognosis is not yet clear, the current expectation is that this will be a short-term absence.

Arsenal are hopeful that Rice’s unavailability will be offset by the return of Jurrien Timber, who was absent against Brighton. Another right-back, Ben White, is also pushing for inclusion and is ahead of schedule in his return from a hamstring issue.

Kai Havertz is another player who has been spotted with the squad on their pre-match walk on Tuesday morning. Havertz is back in training and a decision must now be made on whether he is fit to be selected for the matchday squad. The Germany international has not featured since suffering a knee injury at Manchester United on the opening weekend of the season.

Riccardo Calafiori, who withdrew from the warm-up against Brighton on Saturday after aggravating an issue, remains a doubt for Tuesday’s clash.

Villa, meanwhile, will be without right-back Matty Cash and midfielder Boubacar Kamara, both of whom picked up their fifth bookings of the season against Chelsea on Saturday and are suspended.

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‘A blow in a game of this magnitude’

The absence of Rice from the Villa game would be a significant blow to Arsenal, especially as they’ll have to contend with the running power of Morgan Rogers. Rice has been one of the outstanding players in this season’s Premier League, so Arsenal will miss him in a game of this magnitude.

In Rice’s absence, Arsenal are likely to call upon the former Real Sociedad trio of Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino and Martin Odegaard.

Rice played right-back in Arsenal’s last outing against Brighton, but Arsenal are hopeful that Timber will be fit to reclaim that berth.

Centre-half Gabriel, who came on as a substitute against Brighton, could also be fit to start alongside William Saliba in the heart of the defence.