Gabriel Gudmundsson eases injury fears after Sweden’s 5-1 win, recalls dark days in build-up | OneFootball

Leeds United defender Gabriel Gudmundsson has eased injury concerns after hobbling off during Sweden’s 5-1 World Cup win over Tunisia in Monterrey, Mexico. He indicated the issue stemmed from a difficult week and testing conditions rather than anything serious.

The left-back became the first Leeds player to feature at the tournament on Monday morning, with Brenden Aaronson, Noah Okafor and Ao Tanaka unused. He departed on 66 minutes for Elliot Stroud after on-pitch treatment from Sweden’s medical staff.

“It was quite noticeable to me,” Gudmundsson told Fotbollskanalen. “It hasn’t been an entirely optimal week for me.

“But I trained with the team again on Friday and got two good sessions. The circumstances with the weather [heat and humidity] may have played a small role, but regardless, it felt good.”

He had been a doubt after a five-week hamstring lay-off, then fell ill on arrival in the USA and missed training, spending time in hotel isolation.

“It was dark. It was dark days. I downloaded a lot of series before we flew to the US, and I managed to burn them all in two or three days. I had to isolate myself, sleep a lot and just take care of my body.”

Sweden face the Netherlands in Houston, Texas on Saturday evening UK time, then head to Arlington for a group finale against Japan on 26 June.

Source: yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk