Manchester United star Kobbie Mainoo is one of three players to withdraw from the England squad for October’s internationals, the FA has confirmed.
Mainoo has been joined by Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa and Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White in withdrawing from the squad to face Greece and Finland in the UEFA Nations League.
The young midfielder has been an integral part of Erik ten Hag’s plans at club level so far this season, claiming all seven Man UtdPremier League matches. Mainoo was back in the starting line-up at the weekend, playing the rather tough 85 minutes draw with Aston Villa in the West Midlands – a draw that consigned Man Utd to their worst start to a Premier League season.
In this same game, defender Konsa was substituted after just 12 minutes after he was stopped with an injury.
During the other start from 2 in the afternoon to the Premier League on Sunday, Gibbs-White played 76 minutes Nottingham Forest’s hard-fought draw with Chelsea before limping off with a picked-up ailment when he saw an effort charged at goal.
The news comes as a blow to all three players as the trio would have been hoping to impress current caretaker boss Lee Carsley, who is hot favorite to take on the role on a permanent basis.
Mainoo had been a key player under former manager Gareth Southgate during Euro 2024, and was trusted to start the tournament’s finals in Germany. The midfielder also started Carsley’s first game in charge, playing 77 minutes of the 2-0 win against the Republic of Ireland at the Aviva Stadium.
Gibbs-White won his first England in that win as well, coming off the bench to replace Mainoo late in the game.
Konsa, on the other hand, started the second game of Carsley’s tenure, playing an hour of the comfortable win over Finland at Wembley Stadium.
In a statement published on the FA website, it was confirmed that the players will not be called up to replace Mainoo, Gibbs-White or Konsa in the squad.
