Arsenal midfielder Eberechi Eze has been ruled out of England’s friendlies against Uruguay and Japan later this month due to calf injury.
The 27-year-old was part of Thomas Tuchel’s 35-man squad announced earlier this week but he watched Sunday’s Carabao Cup Final defeat to Manchester City from the stands.
Asked whether Eze would join up with England afterwards, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta said: “No. He’s out. We have to do another scan in six or seven days and wait and see the results. It is his calf.”
A source has told ESPN that Harvey Barnes is under consideration to replace Eze but the Football Association are yet to confirm whether anyone else will be called up.
City defender Nico O’Reilly — who was also included by Tuchel — scored twice at Wembley as Pep Guardiola secured the 19th trophy of his nine-year tenure at the club.
Arsenal are still without any silverware since lifting the 2020 FA Cup but remain nine points clear at the top of the Premier League with quarterfinal ties to come in both the FA Cup and the Champions League.
“What this team has done in the last eight months has been incredible and we’re going to use this disappointment and this fire in the belly to have the most amazing two months that we have ever had together,” said Arteta.
“That’s on us and we’ll manage that energy in the right way. Now we have to go through that pain and disappointment and it’s normal and it’s part of football.”
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Arteta also defended his decision to select back-up goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga instead of first-choice David Raya.
“I have to do what I feel is right, which is honest and which is fair and I think we have understanding with Kepa, he’s played all the competition and I think it would have been very, very unfair for him and for the team to do something different,” Arteta said.
“We are guided by what we’ve seen and what he’s done, what he’s done in the competition, and he helped us to go all the way through here. I believe it’s the right thing to do and that’s it. Errors are part of football and today it happened unfortunately in a crucial moment.”
