Ecuador have confirmed their list of call-ups for the September-October international break, with Arsenal injury doubt Piero Hincapie left out.
The Ecuador national team’s official social media pages have confirmed their list of call-ups for the upcoming international break, with Arsenal’s Piero Hincapie a notable absentee.
Ecuador are set to play friendly matches away to South Korea and Japan over the break, but the Arsenal defender will be spared the trip to Asia.
Ryan Taylor reports for Football.London that it’s understood Hincapie is not at 100%, with Ecuador boss Marcelo Gallardo suggesting ahead of the call-ups that there would be some injury absentees over the break. Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo is another.
Mikel Arteta had originally hinted at reasons to be positive with Arsenal’s defensive injury situation last week.
Ahead of the weekend defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion, Arteta suggested there was a chance any of Ben White, Jurrien Timber, Cristhian Mosquera, and Hincapie could be involved in the match, adding that he was feeling ‘very positive’.
In the end, Hincapie and Timber were the only two to make the squad, and only Timber featured on the pitch. But whilst Timber has been called up by the Netherlands, Ecuador clearly believe Hincapie would be better served by a break.
Arsenal will obviously be hoping that the international break allows the three players not called up to get back to full fitness, and that Timber benefits from his time on the pitch.
If all four could be available by the time Arsenal return to action on Saturday, October 10th, that would leave William Saliba as the only known injury absentee at this stage.
Of course, the international break is just as likely to create new problems as solve existing ones, so Arsenal will be keeping fingers crossed on the rest of the squad.
- Mourinho makes unprompted remark about Arteta & ArsenalJose Mourinho has made a bizarre dig at Arsenal and Mikel Arteta, suggesting the manager’s new contract shouldn’t happen at Real Madrid.
- 2nd Arsenal player also picked up injury in post-Leeds warm-downMartin Zubimendi picked up a knock in Arsenal’s warm-down following Saturday’s match against Leeds United, according to a report.
- Mikel Arteta admits to selection dilemmaMikel Arteta has admitted that Mikel Merino and Martin Odegaard gave him a selection problem over the weekend, having both played so well over the international break.
- Arsenal 25yo reflects on 1st Emirates appearance for 7 monthsJurrien Timber has admitted he’s happy to be back playing at the Emirates Stadium after a seven-month absence, and he’s already looking forward to the next game.
- Arsenal star admits he has bigger responsibility this seasonRiccardo Calafiori has admitted he feels a responsibility to step up at Arsenal now, having already been at the club for a couple of seasons.