England interim boss Lee Carsley is expected to see a number of senior players pull out of the squad to face Greece and Republic of Ireland after picking up injuries for their clubs
England interim boss Lee Carsley is expected to see a number of senior players pull out of the squad to face Greece and Republic of Ireland after picking up injuries for their clubs England interim boss Lee Carsley is expected to see a number of senior players pull out of the squad to face Greece and Republic of Ireland after picking up injuries for their clubs
Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold is set to pull out of England’s upcoming Nations League games.
The Reds full-back suffered a hamstring strain during their 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday. Alexander-Arnold was replaced by Conor Bradley after 25 minutes.
Liverpool are hopeful the injury is not serious but he is expected to be out for a couple of weeks. That means he will be in a race to get ready for the Reds’ trip to Southampton on the resumption of the Premier League after the international break.
Speaking after the victory against Villa, manager Arne Slot admitted he would be surprised if Alexander-Arnold would be able to play for the national side, who take on Greece and Republic of Ireland in Lee Carsley’s final matches in charge.
He saidL “It is difficult to say how serious it is but it is always serious if a player goes out in the first half. Not because I didn’t like him but he asked for it himself, he asked for it because he felt something.
“So that is first of all not a good sign. It is always difficult so close after the game to tell you exactly what it is but let’s wait and see. I would be surprised if we will see him playing for the England national team this week but hopefully he can.”
Alexander-Arnold isn’t expected to be the only player to declare themselves unavailable for the latest England matches either. Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice both picked up knocks for Arsenal during their draw with Chelsea, while Cole Palmer was also limping in the closing stages at Stamford Bridge.
Manchester City duo Kyle Walker and Jack Grealish are also major doubts, with the latter missing the final match before the break through injury. The decision to include Grealish at all sparked a prickly response from his club manager Pep Guardiola.
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“National teams always play in this period and I’m always pleased for players to go – when they are fit and they haven’t struggled for the past one, two, three or four weeks,” he explained.
“Yes, he was in the gym for a few minutes for the past two days but it’s a question for the manager from the UK (England) – I’m not involved.”
England face Greece in Athens on Thursday night, before taking on Ireland at Wembley on Sunday night. The Three Lions will likely need to win both if they are to secure promotion before Thomas Tuchel officially takes charge at the start of 2025.
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