After Mason Greenwood, Trent Alexander-Arnold pulls out of the squad after limping off in England’s warm-up game against Austria.
Manchester United forward Greenwood pulled out of the provisional squad earlier this month to recover fully from an underlying groin injury that also kept him out of the Under-21 European Championship in March.
Alexander-Arnold, who fought his way back into the 26-man squad, was given a chance to play in a friendly game against Austria. Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka helped England win the game with his first international goal, but the Three Lions were given an injury blow after the right-back hobbled back to the England dugout with two minutes to go.
Gareth Southgate, the England manager, wasn’t very optimistic about the injury when he spoke to Sky Sports News after the match.
“We’ve got to see, it’s obviously not a good sign that he’s had to walk off the pitch, and he was in some discomfort. We’re so close to the finals that for any player, injuries makes them a doubt. But we will just have to see over the next 48 hours.”
he said.
When asked about the possible replacement if Trent was ruled out, he said:
“Let’s see how Trent is first then we’ll go from there.”
The situation worsened for the English manager when the scans revealed that the 22-year-old right-back had suffered a quad tear. This will keep him out for around six weeks, and he will return to the club for rehabilitation. The club will hope that he returns for pre-season and the start of next season.
In the bigger picture, this exacerbated the situation as Jordan Henderson and Harry Maguire, two key players of England, were already a doubt for England’s opening game against Croatia.
But there seems to be some positive news in England’s dressing room, as Maguire stepped up his rehabilitation after some strengthening work in the gym at England’s training base. In addition to this, Southgate has also hinted at Henderson’s return by saying that it would be a ‘real bonus’ if he features in the next game.
The midfielder suffered a slight setback in his recovery from a groin injury that has kept him out since February. Southgate is sanguine about his role as an influencer in the team even if he doesn’t get to feature in the tournament.
England play their final warm-up game against Romania on Sunday, and the manager will have a squad of 23 to choose from after Luke Shaw, Marcus Rashford and Dean Henderson return from their week off following the Europa League final.
Southgate will also announce the replacement after the game, with James Ward-Prowse and Jesse Lingard leading the race to make the cut.
