Noni Madueke was sent off after just 38 minutes in England’s match against Uruguay, leaving the winger’s availability for Arsenal’s future fixtures against Mikel Arteta in doubt.
Noni Madueke limped off during England’s match against Uruguay on Friday (Image: Getty Images)
Noni Madueke is doubtful for Arsenal’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Sporting CP next week after sustaining a knee injury during the international break. The winger will also miss this weekend’s FA Cup game against Southampton.
Maduke started last Friday’s 1-1 draw between England and Uruguay, but was sent off in the 38th minute after falling to the ground following a challenge from Rodrigo Aguirre. The 24-year-old limped to the touchline and headed straight down the tunnel to replace West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen.
After the match, Madueke walked through the mixed zone wearing a knee brace and appeared visibly uncomfortable, sparking fears that he had a serious problem. The Athletic reports that it is a rather minor issue, but the player is expected to miss Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final against Southampton, leaving his availability for the first game against Sporting three days later in doubt.
read more: Mikel Arteta has given Arsenal more uncertainty and an injury crisis in the title raceread more: Arsenal’s Martin Zvimendi becomes 11th star player to withdraw from international football due to injury scare
The Gunners travel to Lisbon on Tuesday 7th April, before hosting Bournemouth on Saturday 11th April before hosting Sporting at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday 15th April. After that, they face Manchester City, which is sure to be an important period for Arsenal, and manager Mikel Arteta will no doubt be hoping for Madueke’s return for that game.
After the England-Uruguay match, Three Lions manager Thomas Tuchel admitted he was “concerned” about Maduke’s injury, but said at a press conference before his arrival on Monday that he would be out for “a few days”.
Madueke is one of a number of Arsenal players to have withdrawn from international duty in the past 72 hours, with England pair Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka among those who have returned to London Colney for “medical evaluation”.
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Noni Madueke injured left knee (Image: Chris Brunskill/Getty Images)
Tuchel said: “They (Saka and Rice) have received a medical diagnosis. To be clear, they wanted to play desperately. They desperately wanted to be out. It just didn’t make sense to take such a risk.”
“Maybe if it was the last game of the season, we would have kept them and tried everything. But at this moment in the season, it didn’t make sense. The risk of making things worse was too great.”
“When we did the medical evaluation, they were both clearly feeling discomfort, so it made no sense at all for them to stay.[Noni]had a better image than he was feeling, but he will be out for a few days.”
Martin Zvimendi, Piero Hincapie, Gabriel Magalhães, William Saliba, Ebelesi Eze, Leandro Trossard and Julien Timber also left their respective national teams this month. Martin Odegaard and Mikel Merino joined Arsenal’s 12-man injury list, with both players ruled out before the two-week break.
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