Thomas Tuchel makes worrying Noni Madueke injury admission in huge Arsenal concern

• 

• Arsenal
• Arsenal News
• Noni Madueke

Noni Madueke was seen limping off with a knee injury in England's draw with Uruguay and the Arsenal forward left Wembley with his left leg in a brace

England manager Thomas Tuchel has confessed he is "worried" that Noni Madueke has sustained a serious injury.

Madueke departed Wembley with his left leg in a brace, representing yet another significant concern for Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta.

The Gunners now face an anxious wait to discover the full extent of Madueke's injury, having appeared to damage his knee following a challenge from Uruguay's Rodrigo Aguirre.

Tuchel has expressed his hope that the injury is not as serious as it looked, though the early signs were far from encouraging for the Arsenal winger, who was withdrawn before the interval.

A visibly concerned Tuchel said: "I'm worried, of course. Very sad and upset and hopefully it's not a big injury."

The England boss was equally frustrated that VAR failed to intervene following the robust challenge inside the Uruguay penalty area.

He said: "It was the tackle. I think it was on the edge, the tackle, within the box. But they didn't check it."

Tuchel did nonetheless praise Madueke's display prior to his withdrawal, with the Arsenal wide man locked in competition with West Ham's Jarrod Bowen for a berth in the World Cup squad.

Tuchel said: "He started well, he was full of energy, he was ready to go. And I think against a team like Uruguay, who rely on one-against-ones, to isolate them, he makes the spaces open up and he could have been a key player for us, which he is."

That will provide scant consolation for Arteta, whose injury concerns continue to mount following Eberechi Eze's withdrawal from the England squad with a calf problem that could sideline him for up to a month. Mikel Merino remains sidelined with a foot injury that could rule him out for the remainder of the campaign, while Jurrien Timber's absence from the Carabao Cup final has raised further concerns.

Remarkably, six players in total withdrew from international duty, with Leandro Trossard, Gabriel and William Saliba all pulling out of the March squads for their respective nations.

The sixth absentee was Martin Odegaard, with the Arsenal and Norway skipper continuing his recovery from a knee problem, though he is hopeful of returning following the international break.