Gareth Southgate has confirmed he plans to monitor the fitness of winger Bukayo Saka after naming the Arsenal star in his latest England squad.
Saka limped off in the first half of Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat to Lens in midweek and is a major doubt for his side’s imminent visit from Premier League leaders Manchester City, who head to the Emirates Stadium after losing their unbeaten record to Wolves last weekend.
After this round of Premier League fixtures, England’s 26-player squad will unite to prepare for games against Australia and Italy, and Southgate is hopeful Saka will be able to take part alongside Arsenal teammates Eddie Nketiah, Aaron Ramsdale and Declan Rice.
“He’s still being assessed as they’ve obviously got a big game this weekend,” Southgate told a press conference. “Then there’s another seven days before we play Australia and ten days before we play Italy so everybody will monitor everything as we go forward.”
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta confirmed Saka felt “something muscular” against Lens, sparking major concerns that the winger, who has started the 2023/24 season in superb form, will now miss one of the biggest games of Arsenal’s season.
Saka‘s fitness has been the subject of an intense debate over recent months, with Arteta facing increasing scrutiny over the lack of rest he has afforded the 22-year-old. Saka played 48 games for Arsenal in all competitions last season, and has also played 16 times for England since the beginning of 2022.
He was rested for the Carabao Cup third-round victory over Brentford, and that marked the first Arsenal game that Saka has sat out since November 2022 – coincidentally at the same stage of the competition.
Arsenal are now awaiting the result of further scans on Saka’s condition, after which a final decision will be made over his involvement for both club and country. Arteta is also waiting for positive news on Gabriel Martinelli, who has been ruled out recently with a hamstring injury.
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