Arsenal youngster Joe Willock has withdrawn from England Under-21 duty but his injury is unlikely to provide Unai Emery with a significant selection dilemma.
football.london understands the 20-year-old is suffering inflammation of the calf, meaning he will play no part in upcoming European U21 Championship qualifiers against Turkey and Kosovo. Though the injury is relatively minor - Willock was deemed fit enough to be named on the bench for Sunday's north London derby - both Arsenal and the FA agreed it was better for the highly-rated prospect to rest during the international break.
His place in Aidy Boothroyd's squad has been taken by QPR's Eberechi Eze.
Willock, who has started three of Arsenal's four Premier League games this season, would have been making his debut at U21 level, possibly alongside team-mates Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah.
The midfielder's progress has been keenly noted by the England senior setup with Gareth Southgate namechecking Willock after announcing his senior squad.
"At those big clubs, every game is a pressure situation," Southgate said. "Those clubs have good players coming through their academies and circumstances have allowed for opportunities.
"It's another example of when those guys go in — as Trent [Alexander-Arnold] has done, as Mason [Mount] has done, as Willock has done — they can more than survive."
Willock's rise has also been noted at Arsenal and the club hierarchy are expected to open talks over a contract extension for the youngster in the coming months.
He himself is determined to make the most of the opportunities head coach Emery is affording him.
"I'm just trying to improve every day and give what I can to win the games," he said after a 2-1 win over Burnley last month. "The squad we have this year is amazing and it can do big things. If I can add to that with what I can bring, it’s good and that’s all I’m looking for really.
"For me, my head was always about playing for the Arsenal first-team, that's always been my dream as a young buy coming through the academy as a six-year-old.
"It was always to play for Arsenal so I wasn't looking for anything else. When Unai showed confidence in me in pre-season it was inevitable in my head that I was going to stay."
