Manchester City’s list of absentees from international duty this month has grown by two on Monday evening with two exits from the England camp.
The latest withdrawals from call-ups come at a time when Manchester City are battling a number of injury problems within the first-team squad, hampering their results across competitions and playing a big role in four consecutive defeats in the last four matches.
Among those to have not been selected for international duty are long-term absentees Oscar Bobb and Rodri, whilst shorter-term injuries in Ruben Dias, John Stones, and Nathan Ake were not selected due to injury concerns.
However, Jack Grealish’s inclusion in the latest England squad left many confused with the Manchester City winger having been ruled out of action for the Premier League champions for a number of weeks due to a muscular problem.
Speaking on the selection, England interim head coach Lee Carsley explained, “We’re hoping we’ll assess him when he comes into camp. Jack is in the same position as maybe four or five players, question marks over whether they’re going to be involved or not. We try give them as long as we can.”
And it appears as though despite Grealish and England’s best efforts to get the winger fit for duty over the next two weeks, the former Aston Villa captain has been unable to make the upcoming two matches.
As per reports on Monday evening, both Jack Grealish and his Manchester City teammate Phil Foden have withdrawn from their respective call-ups to Lee Carsley’s England squad for their forthcoming UEFA Nations League contests.
The exits of the Manchester City pair mean that two players remain a part of Carsley’s England set-up from the Etihad Stadium, with no rest or recovery period being granted to Rico Lewis and Kyle Walker through national team withdrawal.
With the rest of the international break still to come, and no matches having been played yet, Manchester City’s list of absent stars has been taken up to 10 players including Manuel Akanji and Matheus Nunes, who withdrew from Switzerland and Portugal action this week.
The remainder of the injured and absent list consists of Nathan Ake, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku, Rodri, and Oscar Bobb, whilst Kevin De Bruyne ruled himself out of the November break prior to the October break.
Manchester City will return to action in the Premier League after the final international break of 2024 with a meeting against Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium, having already met the North London side in a 2-1 defeat in the Carabao Cup fourth round.