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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Mark Taylor

Victor Lindelof mystery as Man Utd star abruptly walks out on Sweden squad

Victor Lindelof has departed from international duty with Sweden, but mystery surrounds the reason for his exit.

It was labelled as “private, personal reasons” by the Manchester United star’s national team.

But the abrupt exit with a friendly still to play against Estonia on Wednesday.

Lindelof had played the full 90 minutes of the World Cup qualification wins against Georgia and Kosovo respectively.

But Sweden’s assistant manager Peter Wettergren confirmed that Lindelof was returning to Manchester on Monday night, and gave no indication as to whether the defender was injured or not.

“He will leave us tonight for private, personal reasons,” Wettergren said during a press conference on Monday.

Sweden's head coach Janne Andersson (R) speaks to Sweden's defender Victor Lindelof during a training session of Sweden's national football team in Stockholm on March 23, 2021, prior to the World Cup qualifier of Sweden vs Georgia to be played on March 25, 2021. (Photo by Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP) (Photo by JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images) (Getty)

Lindelof admitted recently that he has been wrestling a back injury for months, and that he has been managing the situation as best he can.

“I’ve been struggling a bit with my back. I’ve been having it for the last couple of months,” he said earlier this month.

“I missed a few games as well and I am just trying to manage it in a good way. I missed a few games and I came back slowly.

(PA)

“I played one game and then I got to rest again, it felt a bit better.

“It started to come back a little bit but I’m just trying to manage it in a good way, do the recovery right and then treatment. [I’m] just trying to manage it in a good way.”

There was a slightly comical moment during Sweden’s recent win over Kosovo when Lindelof, along with former Celtic defender Mikael Lusting, waved off an opposition player who was sent off.

Lindelof was seen waving off Bernard Berisha as he trudged off the pitch in the final minutes of the game.

The 26-year-old also missed his son's second birthday due to international commitments.

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