Reiss Nelson has had to pull out of England u21 duty with a knee injury, after missing Arsenal’s Premier League match at the weekend.

LOND ON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 24: Reiss Nelson of Arsenal celebrates scoring his teams fourth goal of the game during the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Arsenal FC and Nottingham Forrest at Emirates Stadium on September 24, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 24: Reiss Nelson of Arsenal celebrates scoring his team’s fourth goal of the game during the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Arsenal FC and Nottingham Forest at Emirates Stadium on September 24, 2019, in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

The FA have confirmed that Sam Surridge and Ben Wilmot have been called up to the England u21 squad to play Slovenia and Austria in place of Morgan Gibbs-White, Reiss Nelson and Mason Greenwood, who are all injured.

Nelson has a knee injury, which is presumably also what was keeping him out of Arsenal’s win over Bournemouth at the weekend. The winger failed to make the squad despite scoring once and assisting twice in his previous two starts.

From an Arsenal point of view, it’s good that this injury has come right before the international break. If your players have to be missing at some point, it may as well be when you don’t have any games. Hopefully, the injury isn’t anything serious though.

The suggestion is that it isn’t, as Arsenal sources reportedly informed James Benge on Sunday that his absence from the squad was just a selection decision. The most likely conclusion we can draw is that they’re holding him back as a precaution.

Latest Arsenal injury updates and news
Latest Arsenal injury updates and news