- England suffer two late withdrawals
- Grealish absent from City win
- Hamstring issue for Alexander-Arnold
Both Jack Grealish and Trent Alexander-Arnold have been forced to withdraw from the England squad due to injuries. Grealish, the Manchester City forward, was absent from Saturday’s 5-1 victory over Fulham, while Alexander-Arnold, the talented full-back from Liverpool, suffered a hamstring injury during Liverpool’s 3-0 win against Aston Villa on Sunday.
These injuries have come just ahead of England’s important fixtures, including a Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine in Poland scheduled for Saturday and a friendly match against Scotland in Glasgow on September 12th.
Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah and Chelsea centre-back Levi Colwill have received their first call-ups to the squad and the absence of Grealish and Alexander-Arnold may increase their chances of getting some minutes, especially in the case of Nketiah.
England manager Gareth Southgate has made the decision not to call up any replacements.
Betting Implications
England are favourites to come away with the victory and they should have sufficient strength in depth to deal with the absence of Grealish and Alexander-Arnold. It does, though, reduce Southgate’s strength in depth. Alexander-Arnold had been called up as a midfielder, however, he also provides cover at right-back. It may mean that less experienced players play a bigger role in the friendly with Scotland as Southgate will be keen to manage the minutes of his squad. Check out Betting.com’s best UEFA Euro betting sites and our best football betting sites.
