Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres has been ruled out of Sweden's must-win World Cup qualification matches against Switzerland and Slovenia due to a muscle issue
Ryan Taylor
10:01, 06 Nov 2025
Graham Potter
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Graham Potter has spoken about the absence of Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres from his first Sweden squad
Graham Potter has shared his pain after Viktor Gyokeres picked up a muscle injury that has ruled him out of Sweden's two crunch upcoming World Cup qualification matches against Switzerland and Slovenia.
The Scandinavian nation currently sit bottom of Group B having claimed just one point from their first four qualifiers.
Potter, who has replaced Jon Dahl Tomasson on a short-term deal following his West Ham sacking, is bidding to keep Sweden's World Cup dream alive.
He said after confirming his squad: "We need our best players and Viktor and Dejan [Kulusevski] are important for us.
"But we have the ones we have. We have to work with the players we have and create a team and the right environment. Then just work."
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According to Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, Gyokeres is still undergoing tests after suffering a potential hamstring strain in the 2-0 win at Burnley, in which he scored the opener.
The Gunners are hoping to have their centre-forward back fit in time to face Tottenham in the north London derby after the international break.
Sweden need to win both of their next two matches to stand a chance of qualifying.
They would also be relying on Kosovo to lose against Slovenia and Switzerland just to secure second-place, which would book their ticket into the play-offs.
Yet even if they're unable to achieve that, Sweden do have a get-out-of-jail card up their sleeve.
That's because next summer's World Cup has been expanded from 32 teams to 48 nations.
Viktor Gyokeres
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Viktor Gyokeres picked up a muscle injury in Arsenal's 2-0 win at Burnley
As a result, the four highest-ranked group winners from the UEFA Nations League - that did not finish in the top two of their World Cup qualification group - will gain entry to a four-team mini-tournament in March.
The winners of that small competition will then gain entry to the finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Effectively, there is still a firm chance Gyokeres could have a hand in Sweden's fate, though he might just have to wait several months to get back onto the pitch for his country.
The 27-year-old is Arsenal's top goalscorer in all competitions having netted six times in all competitions.
Prior to the injury, it had been a positive couple of weeks for the Swede after he hit a brace against Atletico Madrid before steering in at Turf Moor.
Arteta looks poised to utilise Mikel Merino as a makeshift striker again in his absence and the Spaniard hit a double in Czech Republic on Tuesday as the Gunners won 3-0 at Slavia Prague.
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