Why is Declan Rice not Playing Tonight vs Aston Villa?

Declan Rice has been ruled out for the game against Aston Villa on matchday 19 of the 2025/26 English Premier League. The English midfielder sustained a knee injury in Arsenal's 2-1 win over Brighton Hove & Albion in their previous Premier League game at the Emirates.

Rice started the game as right-back in that match, and was quite instrumental for his team with crunch tackles and defence-splitting passes from the back. He carried on with the issue and played the entirety of the game, and was hopeful of making it to the Aston Villa game on Tuesday.

However, as things stand, Rice has failed to recover in time despite the efforts from the medical staff, and he will sit out this match as a result to avoid exaggerating his injury further. Arsenal have already faced a lot of injury issues this season and don't want another one of their star performer to be sidelined for a prolonged period of time, especially at the business end of the season.

Declan Rice's unavailability is expected to be covered up by Jurrien Timber, who's available for this game after missing the Brighton fixture last time around. Ben White has also been included in the matchday squad, who is also an option for Mikel Arteta to choose from. It remains to be seen who replaces Rice in the midfield for this game.

When will Declan Rice return?

As of now, there has been no official confirmation regarding Declan Rice return date. Arsenal will look to handle Rice's injury issue very carefully and will hope to have him back only at 100% fitness. However, the English midfielder will be present in the stands to watch his team play in another important fixture before the year ends.