It has now emerged why Leeds United's Noah Okafor didn't feature for Switzerland against Germany.
Leeds United will have a keen eye on Switzerland’s meeting with Norway this evening amid reports Noah Okafor suffered a knock in training last week.
But a decent debut campaign at Leeds put Okafor back in contention, with the 25-year-old scoring four Premier League goals in 24 appearances. Posting on social media following his call-up, the Whites winger insisted ‘the World Cup dream is alive’.
Switzerland hosted Germany in a World Cup warm-up friendly on Friday evening, with the away side edging a seven-goal thriller 4-3. Leeds midfielder Anton Stach got 10 minutes off the bench for Julian Nagelsmann’s side but his Elland Road teammate Okafor was nowhere to be seen.
The winger was given a watching brief on the substitute’s bench despite relaxed rules allowing for wholesale changes, and a report has now explained why. Sport Witness relay a report from Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung that claims Okafor was initially due to get minutes on Friday, but for an injury suffered in the warm-up.
Noah Okafor injury unclear as Switzerland prepare for Norway
Okafor’s issue is described as a ‘knock’, which suggests nothing serious but puts his participation for this evening’s game against Norway in doubt. The speedy winger has only just returned from a hamstring injury that kept him out for five league and cup fixtures at Leeds.
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It remains to be seen if Okafor’s issue is serious enough to keep him out of action this evening, but Leeds will get some clarity before kick-off at 5pm when the teams are released. Daniel Farke’s side aren’t back in Premier League action for almost two weeks but do face West Ham in an FA Cup quarter-final this Sunday.
Okafor’s fellow left-sided player Gabriel Gudmundsson also picked up a knock during the first week of this international break, with the Swedish international substituted midway through the second-half of his side’s World Cup play-off win over Ukraine. The left-back allayed fears of a serious issue ahead of tonight’s final against Poland.
Winger Daniel James is also being closely monitored by Wales having played close to 90 minutes during their play-off semi-final defeat to Bosnia & Herzegovina on penalties. The 28-year-old missed the entire winter period after suffering a hamstring tendon injury at Manchester City in November.
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