England confirm that Morgan Gibbs-White, Kobbie Mainoo and Ezri Konsa have all withdrawn from the Three Lions’ squad for this month’s Nations League matches.
England have confirmed that three players have been forced to withdraw from this month’s UEFA Nations League fixtures through injury.
The Three Lions will endeavour to continue their perfect start to life under the wing of Lee Carsley, who oversaw 2-0 victories over the Republic of Ireland and Finland during September’s internationals.
England will reunite with Finland on October 13, three days after they take on Greece at Wembley on October 10, but the Euro 2024 runners-up have now seen their ranks thinned by the exits of three players.
On Monday evening, England announced that Manchester United‘s Kobbie Mainoo, Aston Villa‘s Ezri Konsa and Nottingham Forest‘s Morgan Gibbs-White have all left the camp due to injury.
Mainoo had sustained a muscular problem during Man United’s loss to Tottenham Hotspur late last month and subsequently missed the 3-3 draw with Porto in the Europa League, but he was back in the starting lineup against Aston Villa.
England decide against replacing injured trio
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Mainoo was replaced by Casemiro in the 85th minute of that goalless draw, and it has now been revealed that the midfielder sustained a fresh issue in that game, which is serious enough to send him home.
In the same match, Aston Villa right-back Konsa lasted just 12 minutes before dropping to the turf with a suspected hamstring problem, and he was always likely to withdraw from the squad after that premature change.
Meanwhile, Forest attacker Morgan Gibbs-White appeared to get his studs caught in the turf during the Tricky Trees’ 1-1 draw with Chelsea, as he made way for Nicolas Dominguez in the 76th minute.
England have confirmed that no further additions are planned to the squad despite the recent withdrawals, bad news in particular for Tottenham Hotspur’s James Maddison, who would have been a candidate to fill in for Gibbs-White.
Will Harry Kane be fit for England games?
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In addition to the three Premier League scares, Three Lions captain Harry Kane was dealt a second injury concern in as many weeks during Bayern Munich’s draw with Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga.
The 31-year-old sustained an apparent leg problem in the second half of the match, and Bayern boss Vincent Kompany admitted at the time that he was unsure how severe his problem was.
However, initial assessments have shown positive results, and Kane was among the 22 players to arrive at St George’s Park for Nations League preparations, suggesting that he will be fine to take part in October’s games.
England sit second behind Greece in League B Group 2 of the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League, having been relegated from the top tier of the tournament under Gareth Southgate in 2022-23.