England captain Harry Kane has been critical after nine of his team-mates withdrew from international duty this week.
The Three Lions skipper said he “didn’t like” how many had dropped out of Lee Carsley’s squad ahead of games against Greece and Republic of Ireland, insisting “England comes before anything”.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, Aaron Ramsdale and Levi Colwill were all named in Carsley’s original squad but pulled out on Monday for various reasons.
Defender Jarrad Branthwaite, who was one of five players drafted in to replace them, then became the ninth player to leave the camp to return to his club.
So why have so many players withdrawn? We look through the reasons for each player.
🏴 ‘It’s been taken advantage of, I don’t like it!’
💬 Harry Kane ahead of England’s Nations League clash with Greece tomorrow
🗣️ @GabrielClarke05 pic.twitter.com/weboym5qrG
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) November 13, 2024
Trent Alexander-Arnold was forced off in the first half of Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday with a hamstring problem.
The right-back, who had started all four games under Carsley, is expected to return in time for Liverpool’s first game back against Southampton before a huge double-header against Real Madrid and Manchester City.
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice was a doubt heading into Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea and was substituted in the 71st minute at Stamford Bridge.
The 25-year-old had also been playing with a broken toe so opted to recuperate over the international period.
Gunners team-mate Bukayo Saka was also a doubt and limped off during the closing stages against the Blues. The winger had missed two games previously after picking up an injury on the last international break.
Chelsea forward Cole Palmer played the duration of the match in West London despite being named as a doubt before kick-off.
The 22-year-old suffered a knee injury against Manchester United the previous week and played through the pain against Arsenal.
Jack Grealish was named in Carsley’s squad despite not featuring in any of Manchester City’s previous seven games, with Pep Guardiola unhappy with the left-winger’s inclusion.
Guardiola said Grealish had wanted to report to St George’s Park but then suffered “two or three setbacks” in his injury.
A #ThreeLions squad update from St. George’s Park 👇
— England (@England) November 11, 2024
Southampton’s on-loan Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale reportedly fractured his finger during the Saints’ 2-0 defeat to Wolves on Saturday.
Jarrad Branthwaite, one of five players called up in their absence, had been nursing a slight knock from Everton’s match against West Ham and subsequently returned to Merseyside.
The reasons for the withdrawals of Phil Foden and Levi Colwill are not thought to be related to injury after both played the full 90 minutes for City and Chelsea last weekend.
