Premier League injury withdrawals in final international window before World Cup squads | OneFootball

Arsenal's Gabriel and Manchester United's Benjamin Sesko have withdrawn from international duty during the final window before World Cup squads are named, with a cluster of Premier League players sidelined. The finals take place in June in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

According to NY Times, this break comes amid the domestic run-in, the Premier League ends on May 24, the Champions League is at the quarter-final stage and the FA Cup quarter-finals are this weekend. Six World Cup places will be settled through intercontinental and UEFA play-offs.

Arsenal have had 10 withdrawals from call-ups. Among the players to pull out are Jurrien Timber, continuing treatment on an unspecified issue, Gabriel with a right knee problem and William Saliba with a left ankle injury. Martin Zubimendi has right knee discomfort, Eberechi Eze a calf issue expected to sideline him for at least a month, Leandro Trossard a hip problem and Piero Hincapie has returned after undisclosed medical tests.

England pair Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice are undergoing medical assessment for unspecified issues, while Noni Madueke suffered a knee injury against Uruguay. Hannibal Mejbri has a hamstring injury sustained in Burnley’s 3-1 defeat at Fulham, and Adam Wharton picked up a knock after coming on against Uruguay. Alisson has a muscle injury and John Stones has a calf problem.

Iliman Ndiaye has a foot injury after joining Senegal in Paris as they marked their contested AFCON title before a 2-0 win over Peru, with Idrissa Gueye playing the full match. Calvin Bassey has a back injury, while Nilson Angulo has a muscle tear. Mathys Tel was forced off in the 67th minute in a Premier League defeat to Nottingham Forest and will not join up this month.

Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko’s issues are not considered serious, and neither Cameroon nor Slovenia qualified for this summer’s finals. One bright note, Viktor Gyokeres stayed with Sweden for their play-offs and hit a hat-trick in a 3-1 win over Ukraine, with a final against Robert Lewandowski’s Poland to come on Tuesday.

Source: NY Times