Arsenal youngster Bukayo Saka was named in England’s 24-man-squad ahead of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers last week. England will face Andorra away from home on Sunday and will host Hungary on 13th October at the Wembley pitch.
During the game against Brighton last weekend, which ended as a draw, Saka suffered a knock following a heavy collision with Brighton defender Dan Burn. Saka was limping while making his way off the field and, he was substituted in injury time as he was unable to play the match any further. With Saka an important player for both club and country, it would have been a worrying sight for both Southgate and Arteta.
But Arteta, in his post-match interview said that “He’s fine. He got a knock but he should be fine”. The Spaniard had optimism that Saka will recover soon and, it will not hamper his chances of playing against Andorra while on International duty.
Yesterday Saka was not spotted in training, which raised doubts on whether he will play or not in England’s upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The Arsenal star was not alone who missed England’s training session. Alongside him, Ollie Watkins, Declan Rice and Luke Shaw also missed training due to injuries.
But according to reports in England, Gareth Southgate ‘is optimistic’ that all 24 members of his team will be eligible to play in Andorra la Vella this weekend, despite the quartet’s absence. It also states that it was part of manager Southgate’s plan for the quartet to miss training so that they can take time to work on their fitness and come back fully fit.
Euro 2020 runners up England currently sit on top of Group I with five wins and one draw. They are 4 points clear of Albania who currently occupies the 2nd place spot followed by Poland and Hungary.
