ENGLAND
Why is Bukayo Saka not playing for England tonight against Finland? Injury update
The Arsenal winger was left out of the England squad for their game against Finland.
Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka has left the England training camp and returned to London in order to undergo scans on an injury picked up on international duty.
The 23-year-old featured in The Three Lions’ loss to Greece through the week, although he did not come out of the tie unscathed. As such, he now faces a race against time to be fit and firing for Arsenal’s next game, which will take place on October 19.
Questions were raised when the player received treatment on the pitch before limping off in the second half against Greece, being replaced by Chelsea forward Noni Madueke.
What injury does Bukayo Saka have?
Ahead of the following fixture, against Finland, England interim manager Lee Carsley said that “Bukayo would have been close but it would have been unfair to take a risk with him,” he said, adding “he’s a positive person and I expect him to be fine.” There is no word on what type of injury he has.
Carsley’s words will be of little comfort for Arsenal fans, who will be anxious about the fitness of a player who has stepped up another level this season and already has 7 league assists and ten goals in all competitions. The Gunners have had to deal with plenty of injury concerns so far in the current campaign, with Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard both having suffered physical problems earlier in the year; Saka, in his absence, has worn the armband for the club.
On Saka, he will now return to London to undergo further tests and determine the extent of the injury as well as a timescale on his return to action for his side, who are fighting for the Premier League title along with Manchester City and Liverpool.
Rumours were abound that Martin Ødegaard had even suffered a setback in his recovery process from an ankle injury that he picked up in the previous international break, although various media outlets were quick to quash those voices and it appears that the Norwegian is indeed on the road to recovery and should be back in November.