'Being assessed' - Arsenal fans given injury update following England's defeat to Greece

England manager Lee Carsley has provided a brief update on Bukayo Saka after the Arsenal winger was forced off the pitch in the second half of the Three Lions 2-1 defeat to Greece.

For the first time in their history, Greece secured a win over England with Vangelis Pavlidis scoring a 94th-minute winner to keep his side top of the Nations League group.

Carsley’s side put in a hugely disappointing and disjointed performance with Pavlidis’ second goal nothing short of what either side deserved. However, for Arsenal fans there was yet more heart-break with their star player Saka hobbling off the pitch after 52nd minutes as Chelsea’s Noni Madueke came into the attack.

Thursday’s defeat was far from Saka’s best performance in an England shirt, but with a run of domestic fixtures that includes Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle as well as a Champions League clash against Shakhtar Donetsk, Mikel Arteta will now be sweating over the extent of the 22-year-old’s injury.

Speaking to the media after full-time, the interim England boss Carsley said Saka was being ‘assessed’ but little indication on the extent of the injury was given.

“He’s being assessed”, Carsley noted. “Obviously, in the build-up to the first goal you could see he felt something in his leg.”

Footage was then released of the winger leaving Wembley in which he appeared to be in slight discomfort, but nothing more serious with no crutches seen.

It remains to be seen whether the Gunners fan favourite will be fit enough to face Finland on Tuesday but with Arsenal already contending with injuries to Martin Odegaard, Ben White, Jurrien Timber and Kai Havertz, Arteta will undoubtedly feel he can not afford to lose Saka for an extended period of time, especially when such a tricky period of fixtures are up in the calendar for the Emirates side.

The winger has enjoyed an impressive start to the 2024/25 campaign for Arsenal, already scoring two goals and registering seven assists in seven appearances. He also doubled Arsenal’s lead in their 2-0 Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain last month.

If deemed fit, Saka could next be in action on Tuesday 10 September when England face Finland in Helsinki before returning to take on Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday 19 October.