Rice, Odegaard and Saliba - Arsenal injury news and return dates before Southampton FA Cup clash

It was a tense international break for Arsenal with numerous players leaving their international camps with injuries, but who will be missing against Southampton?

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta would have watched every international break through his fingers. The Gunners manager issued updates for the many players who were either injured before the recent break or were sent back to north London having picked up knocks.

Martin Odegaard, Jurrien Timber, Eberechi Eze, Piero Hincapie, Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice all returned with injuries or were crocked before the club campaign took a break. The north Londoners face Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-final this weekend and will be looking to book another trip to Wembley this season.

However, Arteta may have to be cute with his squad as a result of his injury list. With that in mind, Football London takes a look at the Gunners' injury list and when those players will return.

Noni Madueke

After Madueke limped off during England's 1-1 draw with Uruguay, before leaving Wembley Stadium with a brace on his left leg, many began to fear the worst, including Arteta. However, the Arsenal manager insisted the ex-Chelsea forward's injury is not as serious as first thought.

Arteta, when asked if it's a serious injury, said: "No, it’s not. It looked really bad, and Noni was really worried, especially after what happened to him in his other knee a few weeks ago, and he was out for six weeks. But no, he’s nowhere near that injury, so that was really good news."

When asked if Madueke's injury lay-off can be measured in days, Arteta replied: "I think so."

Potential return date: Bournemouth (H) Premier League, Saturday April 11

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Eberechi Eze

Arteta appeared to confirm Eberechi Eze will not be fit to face the Saints on the weekend after suffering an injury just before the international break. However, the Gunners boss admitted he is unable to put a time frame on the ex-Crystal Palace man.

Arteta said: "Ebz is out; with Ebz I cannot put a finger on it because I don’t know because he’s a special character."

Potential return date: Newcastle United (H) Premier League, April 25

Martin Odegaard

Martin Odegaard has missed his last seven matches with a knee injury. In total, he has had to sit out of 22 matches this campaign.

However, Arteta believes the Norwegian is in contention to be in the squad this weekend. Given how important he is to the Gunners, it would not be a surprise if Arteta errs on the side of caution and does not include him this weekend.

Potential return date: Sporting Lisbon (A) Champions League, April 7

Jurrien Timber

Jurrien Timber has been injured since Arsenal's victory over Everton at the Emirates Stadium last month. He has not featured for club or country since then.

However, Arteta said the Dutchman has as much chance of featuring this weekend as Odegaard. Arteta, when asked about both players, said: "Those are in contention to possibly be in the squad."

Potential return date: Sporting Lisbon (A) Champions League, April 7

Piero Hincapie

The situation around Ecuadorian defender Piero Hincapie is less positive. He appeared to injure his hamstring while trying to catch a counter-attack during his country's recent draw with Morocco.

When asked if the South American's injury can be categorised as serious, Arteta glumly replied: "Yes it was” before answering "no" when asked if they can put a time frame on his absence.

It's difficult to guess how long he will be sidelined for, but considering the disappointed tone in Arteta's voice and the fact there is less than two months of the campaign to go, Hincapie may have even participated in his last match for Arsenal.

However, more tests are to be carried out on Hincapie. Arteta will be hoping these tests yield positive results so he can be involved in the final run-in of matches.

Potential return date: Unknown

William Saliba

William Saliba withdrew from France's international friendlies last month after injuring his ankle. The French Football Federation said at the time: "William Saliba is unable to join the French national team's training camp, which begins this Monday, March 23. The Arsenal centre-back is suffering from recurring pain in his left ankle, requiring treatment and a minimum rest period of ten days."

Assuming their information is accurate, Saliba should be available to face Southampton this weekend.

Potential return date: Southampton (A) FA Cup quarter-final, April 4

Gabriel Magalhaes

Gabriel Magalhaes also pulled out of his country's friendly matches, with Brazil confirming he had a "pain in his right knee". However, there are no specific details indicating how serious the injury is or when he will be expected to return.

Arteta was also ambiguous when asked to provide an update on any other injured players who were not enquired about. The Gunners boss said: "You will see, I will continue the speculation so you can do it and you can judge it afterwards if what I say was right or you have to maybe change and delete and write something else."

Potential return date: Unknown

Bukayo Saka

Bukayo Saka did not feature for England, despite being granted extra time to rest. England manager Thomas Tuchel did not seem too worried when asked about the injury, insisting the forward would have likely been involved had the matches ahead of them been more important.

Potential return date: Southampton (A) FA Cup quarter-final, April 4

Declan Rice

Declan Rice's decision to leave the Three Lions camp was made with the same thought process as Saka. When asked about his and Saka's early departure, Tuchel said: "If it was the last game of the season, we would have kept them, but in this moment, it did not make sense.

"The risk was way too big. They were both clearly in discomfort when we did the medical assessment. It made absolutely no sense that they stayed."

Potential return date: Southampton (A) FA Cup quarter-final, April 4

Leandro Trossard

Leandro Trossard also chose to leave Belgium's international camp, following the lead of many other Arsenal players. Similarly to Gabriel, there is also little information available as to the seriousness of his injury.

Potential return date: Unknown

Mikel Merino

Mikel Merino is not expected to kick another ball for Arsenal this season after suffering an ankle injury. In February, he underwent surgery on his right foot and is currently recovering.

The Spaniard is expected to be fit in time for the World Cup and will be expected to play, should he be called up. However, for the Gunners, he is not expected to feature again.

Potential return date: July pre-season