Eight England players have pulled out of the squad ahead of this week’s Uefa Nations League fixtures against Greece and the Republic of Ireland.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Cole Palmer, Jack Grealish, Aaron Ramsdale, Levi Colwill and Phil Foden will remain with their respective clubs during the international break.
It’s a huge blow to interim boss Lee Carsley, who needs to win his final two games in charge to earn the Three Lions promotion back to League A.
Some have pointed to the fact that Thomas Tuchel will not be in the dugout until next year as the major reason behind the pullouts, but many of the players mentioned are legitimately unavailable due to injury.
Why eight England stars withdrew from squad
Trent Alexander-Arnold
The right-back was forced off with an apparent hamstring injury in the first half of Liverpool‘s 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday. Arne Slot commented that it was “not a good sign” and reports suggest he could be sidelined for two weeks.
Declan Rice
The midfielder was a doubt heading into Arsenal‘s 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Sunday after missing the 1-0 defeat to Inter Milan in midweek. Rice reportedly has a broken toe but started at the weekend and was subbed off in the 71st minute.
Bukayo Saka
The winger was also a doubt, but did start for Arsenal before limping off late on.
Cole Palmer
The Chelsea star was a doubt to face Arsenal, but completed the full 90 minutes, although he did look subdued.
Aaron Ramsdale
The goalkeeper reportedly fractured his finger during Southampton’s 2-0 defeat to Wolves on Saturday.
