England manager has announced that defensive midfielder Kalvin Phillips will miss out on their next international qualifier against Andorra
The Three Lions will have to do without the Leeds midfielder due to a calf strain. Phillips suffered the injury in his club’s 1-0 victory over Watford at the weekend.
He has now been replaced with James Ward-Prowse in English training. This will be a great improvement for the Southampton man’s week after he scored and was shown a red card in their 3-1 loss to Chelsea.
Kalvin Phillips is not the only Leeds player that will miss international duty with Patrick Bamford unable for selection with an ankle injury. Roma striker Tammy Abraham has been drafted in as a backup to Harry Kane.
Southgate will still have a very strong squad to play in this international break. They will first face Andorra away at 19:45 on Saturday 9th October. Three days later they will play Hungary at 19:45 in Wembley. Both matches will be shown on Sky Sports.
James Ward-Prowse has been added to the England squad, replacing Kalvin Phillips.
Phillips has a minor calf issue but is not expected to miss any of Leeds' upcoming fixtures. [The Athletic] pic.twitter.com/1ZPh4xQe1V
— LUFCMOT (@LUFCMOTcom) October 5, 2021
The Three Lions can cope but this may be more trouble for Bielsa and Leeds
Although England will be strong, this injury will be more of a worry to Leeds United fans. The Whites only claimed their first league win of the season on Sunday and are now without some of their starting players.
Marcelo Bielsa was lucky to have a Bamford replacement with Rodrigo able to play the position but he will not have as many choices for Phillips.
Adam Forshaw has spent much of the last two seasons on the injury table and is currently out for two more weeks with a hamstring strain. Northern Irish player, Stuart Dallas is also suffering from a knock.
If Phillips is not right to play, then the team may need to rely on Mateusz Klich to fill in.
Leeds fans should not worry too much presently with the club having a week’s break. Their next match is away to Southampton at 15:00 on Saturday, 16th October.
Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa admires Kalvin Phillips for his conduct amidst reported interest from Premier League rivals Man Utd. #lufc pic.twitter.com/7GPfvEs10A
— Adam Pope (@apopey) September 30, 2021
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