Anthony Gordon has been forced to withdraw from the England squad through injury ahead of their World Cup qualifier against Latvia.
The winger has returned to his club side Newcastle United after picking up a hip problem when he came on as a substitute during the 2-0 win over Albania on Friday evening.
The 24-year-old only entered the fray on 74 minutes but suffered what appeared to be a hip problem during his 15 minutes of play, which saw him limp off down the tunnel at the final whistle.
In a statement released on Sunday, England confirmed: “Anthony Gordon has withdrawn from Three Lions camp having sustained an injury during Friday night’s 2-0 win over Albania. The forward has returned to Newcastle United for further assessment.”
Gordon underwent a scan on the issue and will continue treatment back at Newcastle, meaning he will miss Monday evening’s clash with Latvia at Wembley – the second match of Thomas Tuchel’s reign.
After Friday’s victory, Tuchel had said of Gordon: “He looks injured. First of all I thought it’s his stomach but it’s his hip and it does not look good. It’s a bit worrying, yeah.”
Gordon missed Newcastle’s historic Carabao Cup final victory last Sunday through suspension, after being banned for three games following his red card for raising his hands to the face of Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke.
Gordon is still suspended for the Magpies’s first match back after the international break anyway, a home fixture with Brentford on Wednesday 2 April, but would be eligible to return for the clash with Leicester City on Monday 7 April should he be fit.
The injury means he will miss the opportunity of the Latvia clash to press his case to Tuchel that he deserves more game-time for England. The new Three Lions boss was slightly critical of starting wingers Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford after the Albania win, appearing to open the door for Gordon.
“We hope for more impact in these positions,” Tuchel admitted. “More dribbling and more aggressive runs towards the box. In general that was missing. The chances come from the little runs behind the line. They were not as decisive as they can be.
“Both our wingers who started were not as impactful as they can be in club football. I’m not so sure why we struggled to bring the ball quickly to them.
“We lacked runs off the ball. It was a little bit too much passing, not enough dribbling, not aggressive enough towards goal. They trained very well, they were decisive in training. That’s why I also think they deserved [to start], they were very good in the last weeks with their clubs. We will keep on encouraging them.”
