Eberechi Eze will miss the upcoming England friendlies, with Thomas Tuchel calling up a one-cap winger in his place.
The Arsenal star missed the Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City on Sunday after picking up an injury in the Champions League victory over Bayer Leverkusen last week.
It was a blow for the former Crystal Palace man, who scored a brilliant goal against the German side, only to have to watch his teammates tepidly lose the Wembley showpiece.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta confirmed after the match that Eze would not be fit enough to link up with the Three Lions over the international break.
The Spaniard said: ‘We will do another scan on him in six or seven days and we will wait to see the results. It’s a calf injury.’
It is bad news for the 27-year-old, who is battling with a string of rival forwards for a place in the World Cup squad.
The likes of Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer, Anthony Gordon, Morgan Rogers, Marcus Rashford, Jarrod Bowen and Noni Madueke are all fighting for places on the plane across the Atlantic.
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There is another name who will join that fight as Newcastle United’s Harvey Barnes will replace Eze in the England squad for the upcoming pair of friendles.
Thomas Tuchel’s side take on Uruguay on Friday and then Japan next Tuesday (March 31), both at Wembley.
The 28-year-old has played 49 games already this season for the Magpies, scoring 14 goals, five of which have come in the Premier League and six in the Champions League.
He has one cap for England, having come off the bench in a friendly against Wales in 2020 and had been linked with switching international allegiance to Scotland.
The one appearance in a friendly for the Three Lions does not rule him out of playing for Scotland, who he qualifies for through his grandparents, and there was a suggestion he could make the switch ahead of this summer’s World Cup.
However, that now off the table and Barnes will hope to add to his one cap in the coming days and make an unlikely bid to represent England at the World Cup.
Scotland boss Steve Clarke confirmed last month that Barnes had chosen not to switch allegiance, telling the BBC: ‘It’s the perennial question, everybody keeps asking me about it.
‘This time I can say for sure, Harvey’s going to concentrate on trying to play for England, he’s not going to come to Scotland.’
Another injury blow for England is Jarell Quansah, who will not join the squad, according to his club Bayer Leverkusen.
A club statement read: ‘Quansah sustained a muscle injury in his left thigh and cannot join the England squad as planned. Quansah would have faced Uruguay and Japan with the Three Lions in London.’