Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka has been ruled out of England’s Nations League match against Finland on Sunday after picking up an injury during their defeat to Greece.
Saka was forced off in the second half of Thursday’s 3-1 loss at Wembley and is not fit to play in Helsinki. He will now return to Arsenal for further evaluation ahead of their Premier League game against Bournemouth next weekend.
Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones will also miss the trip to Finland due to a personal matter. Jones, who was a late addition to the squad, did not feature against Greece.
Meanwhile, England captain Harry Kane was among the 22 players who trained on Saturday, raising hopes that he could be fit for Sunday’s game after missing the Greece match due to a knock sustained while playing for Bayern Munich. In Kane’s absence, interim manager Lee Carsley fielded an experimental lineup, with Jude Bellingham in a ‘false 9’ role supported by Phil Foden, Saka, Cole Palmer, and Anthony Gordon.
Reflecting on the loss to Greece, Carsley said: “It’s never easy to lose at Wembley. We always aim to win when we wear this shirt, but we didn’t, and now we have to dust ourselves off, learn from it, and get the result on Sunday.”
England now face added pressure in Group B2, as Greece has opened up a three-point lead at the top. To keep their hopes alive, England must win all three of their remaining fixtures, starting with Finland on Sunday, followed by a trip to Athens and a home game against the Republic of Ireland in November.
Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford remains hopeful that Kane will be available for the Finland match. “He’s not England’s record goalscorer for nothing. He leads by example,” Pickford said. “I think Harry will be fit, and we need to win on Sunday to get back on track.”
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