International football can actually be quite fun at times, just ask the fans of North Macedonia.
Matches can make for stressful viewing for club managers and supporters alike, though, when a key player – or players – are in action for their respective countries.
The March international break is even more anxiety inducing than normal given it occurs before club football reaches a pivotal point in the campaign, when there are trophies and relegation battles to be won.
Premier League football returns this week following the opening round of World Cup qualifying matches dotted across the globe.
There is a full fixture schedule taking place across the division and here are the players in danger of missing out for their clubs.
Son Heung-min (Spurs)
Son Heung-min pulled up chasing a long ball during Tottenham’s north London derby defeat to Arsenal a couple of weeks ago and hasn’t been seen since.
That injury did at least save Son from the ignominy of playing in Tottenham’s calamitous Europa League defeat to Dinamo Zagreb or for South Korea during their 3-0 loss against Japan in Yokohama.
Jose Mourinho was hopeful that Son would be able to face Newcastle United after the international break and will be able to provide an update on his condition during his press conference on Friday.
Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
Bukayo Saka was named in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the matches against San Marino, Albania and Poland but withdrew before any of them due to a persistent hamstring issue.
The 19-year-old also hobbled off during the north London derby and even though he played in Arsenal’s next league game against West Ham, he seems to have been struggling with fixture congestion.
Mikel Arteta issued an update on Thursday, saying: “He hasn’t trained with the team yet, he’s been doing some individual work. We had to pull him out of the England squad, he’s feeling better but hasn’t trained with the team yet.”
Jack Grealish (Aston Villa)
Back out on the green ????
— Jack Grealish (@JackGrealish) March 29, 2021pic.twitter.com/NE26FZJt8x
Jack Grealish has been absent for Aston Villa’s last six Premier League matches with a calf issue and they have suffered without him, winning just one of those games.
However, the Villa skipper looks set to return against Fulham on Sunday after being pictured in full training this week. He Tweeted a picture of himself in Villa’s luminous lime green training top, alongside the caption: “Back out on the green,” on Tuesday.
Patrick Bamford (Leeds)
Patrick Bamford was forced off 35 minutes into Leeds United’s stalemate against Chelsea last month and although he was fit enough to score and assist in their following game against Fulham, he hobbled around for much of it before being substituted late on.
Addressing the media on Thursday afternoon, Marcelo Bielsa did not specify whether or not Bamford would be available or not for the game against Sheffield United, although he did say that “the group is healthy”.
Usually, when it comes to Bielsa, no news is good news, so Leeds fans will hope their leading scorer is available to face the Premier League’s bottom club.
Emile Smith Rowe (Arsenal)
Emile Smith Rowe started England U21s first two games at the European Championships but was unable to play against Croatia on Wednesday due to injury.
“He has some discomfort in his hip,” said Arteta. “That’s why they decided to keep him out. We will see today, he will speak with the doctors and with the physios and see if he’s okay for training tomorrow.”
Like Saka, the 20-year-old seems unlikely to feature against Liverpool.
Callum Hudson-Odoi (Chelsea)
Callum Hudson-Odoi was another injury absentee from England U21s final group game after suffering a shoulder injury during training.
The winger was released from the England camp in order to return to Chelsea’s training base for further assessment on the issue.
Thomas Tuchel will likely provide an update on Hudson-Odoi’s condition in his press conference on Friday ahead of Saturday’s lunchtime clash with West Brom at Stamford Bridge.
James Maddison (Leicester City)
James Maddison has been absent for six weeks with a groin injury but is in contention to return to Leicester’s side for the visit of Manchester City on Saturday.
“He’s back in training and he will be available for the weekend, so that’s great news for us. Clearly, he’s not 100 per cent match fit but, in terms of his football fitness, he looks great,” said Brendan Rodgers.
“He’s not reporting any pain and he looks great. It’s really good news for us, his availability back into the squad again, and hopefully he can stay fit now until the end of the season.”
Marcus Rashford (Man Utd)
Similarly to Saka, Marcus Rashford was withdrawn from Gareth Southgate’s England squad due to injury after sustaining an ankle knock in the Europa League clash with AC Milan.
Rashford missed United’s final game before the break – an FA Cup quarter final defeat to Leicester City – and after reporting for England duty returned to his club for further treatment.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should issue an injury update on Rashford’s condition during his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon.
Mateusz Klich (Leeds)
Mateusz Klich was one of three Poland players who tested positive for Covid-19 during the international break which meant that he was unable to face England at Wembley on Wednesday night.
Bielsa was unable to confirm whether or not Klich would be available to face Sheffield United this weekend as a result.
“The situation with Klich is in the process of being solved,” he said on Thursday. “There is a protocol that needs to be completed and we’ll see what the consequences are. The protocol has not been finalised so we don’t know what the results will be.”
Ricardo Pereira (Leicester City)
In further good news for the Foxes, Ricardo Pereira has also been cleared to play against City after being taken off midway through the 5-0 thrashing of Sheffield United due to a thigh complaint.
“He’s trained with the group and will be available for the squad,” Rodgers revealed, although Harvey Barnes remains sidelined for the time being with a knee injury.
Sergio Reguilon (Spurs)
Tottenham could face a left back shortage for their trip to St James’ Park with Sergio Reguilon struggling to overcome a knock and Ben Davies ruled out due to a “significant” injury to his calf.
Reguilon started in Tottenham’s final match before the break against Aston Villa but had to be taken off early on in the second half and was then left out of Luis Enrique’s Spain squad.
The versatile Japhet Tanganga could deputise against Newcastle if Reguilon is unavailable.
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- The Czech ‘warriors’ who rose from obscurity to fire West Ham into European contention
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3fzARea
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