Przemysław Frankowski has left the Poland camp after tests confirmed a minor muscle injury, and he will not play in the Nations League matches against Romania and Sweden. Arkadiusz Pyrka has been called up as the replacement, with Jan Urban now having to rework one of his left-sided options before the November games.
Poland lose Urban's left-sided option
Urban had already been using Frankowski as a solution on the left side. Speaking to WP SportoweFakty, he said: "If he is fit, then in my opinion we have a left-back". He also told Weszło that putting Frankowski on the left was part of the way he balanced the back four.
The injury takes away a player who has already made 4 UEFA Nations League appearances this season and 9 Ligue 1 appearances for Rennes. Frankowski was still being used regularly at club level, so this is a setback for Poland as much as for his club.
Pyrka gets the call
Pyrka's move into the squad is an emergency one, not a headline-grabbing promotion. He has 3 senior Poland appearances, most recently on 31 May against Ukraine, and the available season data shows 1 match for FC St. Pauli and 0 assists.
That does not make him an unknown quantity, but it does put the weight of the job into context. Urban has lost a fit left-sided option and brought in a player who now has to cover it quickly, with Romania and Sweden next on the list.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →
