Manchester City will be worried about the fitness of Kyle Walker prior to their Premier League top match against Arsenal after the stand-in England captain got injured against Brazil.
The experienced full-back seemed to pull his left hamstring in the 17th minute after using his trademark speed to prevent Vnicius Jr from scoring.
England’s defense had been caught out by a chipped ball over their backline and when the Real Madrid forward pushed the ball beyond a hesitant Jordan Pickford, a goal seemed inevitable.
However, Walker sprinted back in time to easily stop the ball from crossing the line, but his commitment came at a cost.
The 33-year-old, who was leading the team in the absence of Harry Kane, tried to continue playing but eventually gave in to the injury and was substituted by Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa, who made his senior debut.
Gareth Southgate had already been forced to choose a makeshift XI due to a series of injuries to some of his key players.
Kane injured his ankle after colliding with a post during Bayern Munich’s win over Darmstadt last weekend.
The 30-year-old trained separately from the first team squad earlier this week and didn’t recover sufficiently in time to play against Brazil.
The England boss considered Kane’s chances of playing against the Red Devils ‘extremely doubtful’ and pondered whether the increasing demands on players are affecting availability.
‘Everyone wants simple solutions to complex problems,’ he said. ‘Some players have just been unlucky. Kane’s injury occurred when he crashed into the net last weekend and it affected the mechanism of his ankle.’
Saka, meanwhile, seems to have suffered a more severe injury based on the decision made by the England medical staff on Thursday.
The Arsenal winger, dealing with a muscle injury, went back to the north London club where he will be monitored ahead of next Sunday’s Premier League top match against Manchester City.
More information will be provided later…
