Thomas Tuchel has tried to calm the noise around Ezri Konsa after the defender withdrew from England's camp for treatment. The England manager said the issue is not major, but the timing still leaves Arsenal with a fresh fitness check before Saturday lunchtime's trip to Leeds.

Tuchel's explanation of the Konsa issue

Tuchel said Konsa felt discomfort when he came into camp, played against Spain and then saw the problem worsen before the Czechia game. He also said the defender took another hit on the quad, which caused a light trauma, and that England decided not to let him play through the pain.

“Ezri felt discomfort when he came into camp, played with it against Spain and it got a bit worse so he stayed it camp and tried everything for the match against Czechia and it came too soon,” Thomas Tuchel said.

He added: “Unfortunately, he got another hit on the quad and that caused a light trauma and we decided not to let him play through this pain, so he left camp to get treatment for both his issues now. I think nothing major but not worth the risk taking.”

The workload around Konsa has not been small either. He has already played 290 Premier League minutes for Arsenal this season, and he has added 774 minutes for England across competitions in the same campaign.

Arsenal's wider injury concerns

Konsa is not the only name Arsenal are watching. Declan Rice had already pulled out of international action to manage his own injury and workload, while Kai Havertz and Christos Tzolis have hamstring problems and are expected to miss a few weeks, including the Leeds match.

There is a more encouraging note in defence, with Cristhian Mosquera, Ben White and Piero Hincapie back in training in recent days. That should help Mikel Arteta, but it does not remove the need for a few checks before the weekend.

Arsenal were beaten 3-0 by Brighton in their last league outing on 19 September, and they sit second behind Manchester City. Leeds are fifth with 9 points from 5 matches, so this is not the kind of fixture where a distracted squad can hide its absences.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →