Arsenal receive major triple injury boost for Sporting Champions League clash as training footage released

Arsenal trio Gabriel Magalhaes, Leandro Trossard and Declan Rice were seen in training ahead of Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg with Sporting Lisbon, but a handful of other Gunners were still absent.

Mikel Arteta's men travel to the Estadio Jose Alvalade later today as they endeavour to avoid a third straight loss in all tournaments following setbacks against Manchester City and Southampton in the EFL and FA Cups respectively.

The 2-1 reverse to the latter on Saturday evening was costly on both the success and fitness front, as key defender Gabriel was taken off midway through the second half with a knee problem.

The Brazil international had already had to withdraw from the Selecao squad in March due to injury, and Arteta admitted that the player asking to come off was "never good news".

However, Gabriel is ostensibly in with a strong chance of being fit for Tuesday's game, as the former Lille man was observed taking part in team training during Monday morning's session.

Gabriel Magalhaes, Declan Rice in Arsenal training before Sporting

Bukayo Saka absent but Declan Rice and Gabriel return as Arsenal train ahead of Sporting CP clash ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/GSPiJjSN05

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 6, 2026

Gabriel's presence was one of three injury boosts Arsenal received on the bank holiday, as Trossard and Rice were also being put through their paces on the London Colney pitches.

Trossard pulled out of the Belgium squad with an unspecified issue during the international break in March, while Rice was among eight players who withdrew from the England team either side of their friendlies with Japan and Uruguay.

Neither man was involved in the FA Cup defeat at St Mary's over the weekend, but they are also expected to make the journey for the first leg, and potentially start against the Portuguese giants.

Arsenal had already welcomed Noni Madueke, William Saliba and Martin Zubimendi back from their recent blows against Southampton, as all three were introduced in the second half on the South Coast.

No sign of Bukayo Saka, Jurrien Timber in Arsenal training

It was not all good news for Arsenal on the injury front, though, as Bukayo Saka, Jurrien Timber, Eberechi Eze and Piero Hincapie were not filmed in Monday's session by the media.

Eze is already reported to be facing up to six weeks on the sidelines with the calf problem he picked up against Bayer Leverkusen, while Arteta admitted that the issue Hincapie picked up on Ecuador duty is serious.

However, there has been little detail on Timber and Saka's unspecified concerns, and the pair appear to be major doubts for the first leg in Portugal this week.

The media are only permitted to film the first 15 minutes of the training session, though, so there is every chance that Saka and Timber could have emerged later into practice.

Mikel Merino (foot) is the only other Arsenal injury victim at present, and there is no guarantee that the Spain international will be back before the campaign ends.