Arsenal go into the international break on the back of a 3-0 loss at Brighton, their first defeat of the season, which leaves them three points adrift of Premier League leaders Manchester City with Brighton moving to within two points in third.
Rice was one of five players to withdraw from Thomas Tuchel's senior England squad for the upcoming Nations League fixtures. Kobbie Mainoo, Marcus Rashford, Cole Palmer and Tino Livramento have also been ruled out of clashes with Spain, Croatia and Czechia — the last of those a home-and-away double header. Morgan Gibbs-White and James Garner have been drafted in as replacements, with Garner holding two England caps and Gibbs-White having represented the Three Lions on six previous occasions.
The FA confirmed the withdrawals were the result of respective injury issues across the group. Rice's situation centres on hamstring load management rather than a specific structural problem, and he will remain at Arsenal ahead of the club's next Premier League fixture against Leeds United on October 10. He had completed the full 90 minutes of the defeat at the Amex Stadium before the decision was taken to stand him down.
Rice has been managing a neural issue affecting his lower back and hamstring since the turn of the year, a problem that curbed his involvement at this summer's World Cup. He was left unused in England's group-stage win over Panama and came off at half-time against Norway. Speaking after Arsenal's victory in Naples earlier in the season, Rice addressed the volume of football he has played in recent years.
"I think for the last six seasons, even since my West Ham days when it was in Europe, I've played 60 plus every season," he said. "So I think it is sustainable because I've shown that I can do it."
Tuchel is considering whether to bring 16-year-old Dowman into the senior environment from the Under-19 set-up at St George's Park. The Arsenal midfielder is already on site with the younger age group, who are scheduled to face Ireland in a friendly on Friday. Dowman became the Premier League's youngest-ever goalscorer when he netted against Everton at 16 years and 73 days old, and made three Champions League appearances for the Gunners last season while simultaneously sitting his GCSEs. He was not included in Tuchel's World Cup squad for North America.
Arsenal's Piero Hincapie is a further absentee from international duty. The 24-year-old defender, whose loan from Bayer Leverkusen was made permanent in the summer, has started only once in all competitions this season and was an unused substitute at Brighton. He was left out of Ecuador's squad alongside Chelsea's Moises Caicedo and Club Brugge's Joel Ordonez, with reports from Ecuador attributing the trio's absence to injuries and physical issues.
Young defender Marli Salmon has also been withdrawn from England Under-18 duty with an unspecified injury. The 17-year-old had been named in the squad for three Euro Elite League games against Italy, France and Germany and has since been replaced by Chelsea's Gabriel Sambou. Salmon caught the eye during pre-season and played 90 minutes in the 4-2 Carabao Cup win at Ipswich Town, lining up at centre-back alongside both Gabriel Magalhaes and Ezri Konsa, but has played only 90 minutes for the club in total so far this season.
Reporting: Football.London, Sky Sports, Mirror, Football Insider, The Sun, talkSPORT, Metro, RTÉ, Daily Mail, Evening Standard.