Noni Madueke left Wembley with his left knee in a brace after picking up an injury during England’s 1-1 draw with Uruguay on Friday night.
The Arsenal winger, who had been selected to start, was forced off just past the half-hour mark following a heavy challenge from Rodrigo Aguirre. Initially, it looked like a head issue, but replays showed his knee took the full force of the impact. After receiving treatment, he tried to continue before signalling to the bench a few minutes later that he could not carry on.
The news will be a concern for Mikel Arteta, who is already dealing with a growing injury list. Eberechi Eze, who missed the Carabao Cup final, is expected to be sidelined for at least a month, while Mikel Merino is out long term. Martin Odegaard is still working his way back to fitness, and William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Leandro Trossard and Jurrien Timber have all withdrawn from international duty. With a run-in on three fronts to come, the manager faces an anxious wait for players to return.
It was also an eventful evening for Ben White. Back in the England squad for the first time since the Qatar World Cup, he was booed on his introduction in the 69th minute and again by a small section of the crowd after putting England ahead with nine minutes remaining. Any sense of redemption was short-lived. In stoppage time, he conceded a penalty after fouling Federico Valverde, who converted following a VAR check. Like we said, eventful.
England are back in action on Tuesday against Japan, when Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka are expected to return. Both were given a short break after Sunday’s defeat to Manchester City but should see some minutes.