Arsenal have been handed an injury boost after initial scans suggested Noni Madueke’s knee injury is not as bad as first feared.
Madueke injured his left knee playing for England in their 1-1 draw with Uruguay on Friday.
The winger had to be substituted and was seen leaving Wembley with his knee in a brace and limping badly.
Madueke has returned to Arsenal to be fully assessed but England boss Thomas Tuchel has said initial tests have showed the prognosis is “slightly better than his feeling”.
Speaking on Monday, Tuchel said: “The assessment, with the picture, was slightly better than his feeling. He will be out for some days.”
Tuchel also provided an update on Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, who have withdrawn from the England squad and returned to Arsenal.
Rice and Saka only joined up with England after the Uruguay game but felt some discomfort during a training session on Saturday.
Arsenal fans will hope their withdrawal are just a precaution.
Tuchel said: “They had a medical assessment and wanted desperately to play. Let’s get the narrative straight, they wanted desperately to be involved. But it made no sense to take this risk.
“If it would have been the last game of the season then maybe we would have kept them and tried everything, but at this moment of the season it did not make sense.
“The risk for making it worse was just way too big. They were both in discomfort, clear discomfort, so it make absolutely no sense that they stayed.
“Adam Wharton had a little injury… everyone will be out for quite some days, but no dramatically.”
Arsenal are next in action when they face Southampton in the FA Cup on Saturday, before the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Sporting next Tuesday.
