Leeds United’s Gabriel Gudmundsson returns from injury in Sweden draw as World Cup nears | OneFootball

Leeds United defender Gabriel Gudmundsson made his first appearance in almost six weeks on Thursday, starting for Sweden in a 2-2 draw with Greece as the World Cup approaches.

He had been sidelined by a hamstring injury sustained in Leeds’ FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea on 26 April, missing the final four Premier League matches, but was still selected in Sweden’s squad. According to yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk, he had insisted he would be ready to contribute.

He sat out the 3-1 defeat to Norway in Oslo on Monday, then head coach Graham Potter confirmed he would feature against Greece. Gudmundsson started at left wing-back at Stockholm’s Strawberry Arena. He played 64 minutes before Elliot Stroud came on, with the game 1-1 after Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres cancelled out an early Kostas Tsimikas strike.

Shortly after his withdrawal, Gustaf Nilsson put Sweden ahead and it looked decisive until Giorgos Masouras levelled in the 95th minute. Sweden end their two warm-up matches without a win, with a journey across the Atlantic now looming.

Gudmundsson will hope the outing strengthens his case to keep a starting role. Potter suggested afterwards that several places remain open, noting he has time to weigh competition against the need for stability before the opener in 10 days.

Sweden kick off their World Cup campaign against Tunisia in Guadalupe, Mexico on June 15, then face the Netherlands in Houston, Texas five days later. They finish the group in Arlington, also in Texas, against Ao Tanka’s Japan on June 26.

Source: yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk