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Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice has been separated from his England teammates after falling sick, as reported by the Daily Mail.

The Gunners’ star, who played through pain at the Emirates Stadium last season, is currently managing a hamstring and lower back problem.

Rice is expected to join Arsenal’s pre-season camp later than scheduled due to his involvement in the World Cup. Manager Mikel Arteta will be eager for his North London side to begin the new campaign strongly once full preparations resume.

The England international recently caught a bug, prompting Football Association officials to isolate him from the rest of the squad as a precautionary measure.

The move is aimed at preventing a possible outbreak that could disrupt the Three Lions’ preparations ahead of their quarter-final clash with Norway on Saturday.

Rice has missed two consecutive training sessions owing to the illness.

His availability for the upcoming match against Norway remains uncertain, though optimism persists within the England camp that the infection has been contained.

Arsenal’s pre-season training is set to begin in Girona on August 1, with the club likely to be without Rice, Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze, and Noni Madueke.

Players participating in the World Cup will be given a three-week break following their elimination from the competition.

As a result, the aforementioned quartet will miss Arsenal’s opening pre-season fixture.

Should England progress to the semi-finals, they are also expected to sit out the second pre-season match against Real Betis on August 5 in Dublin.

Additionally, Norway’s Martin Odegaard, France’s William Saliba, Spain’s David Raya, Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Merino, along with Belgium’s Leandro Trossard, are unlikely to be available at the start of pre-season.

Spain face Belgium tonight for a place in the semi-finals, while France have already secured their last-four spot following a 2-0 win over Morocco last night.