New Manchester United defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka has pulled out of the England squad with a back injury, the national team confirmed Tuesday.
Wan-Bissaka had received his first international call-up after a summer move to Manchester United where he has settled in fantastically and impressed in his first four Red Devils appearances. He was with the England squad as the group trained ahead of upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Kosovo, and was looking at the possibility of making his international debut, but seemed to have picked up the back problem in training.
“Aaron Wan-Bissaka has withdrawn from the England squad,” the FA said in a statement. “The Manchester United right-back has returned to his club due to a back issue.”
Hope to see you back to full fitness soon, @awbissaka 👊https://t.co/8DrnsyuAbm
— England (@England) September 3, 2019
The FA confirmed in the statement that with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kieran Trippier both already with the group as right-sided full-backs, no replacement would be drawn in to the squad and the number of players would remain at 24 after Wan-Bissaka’s withdrawal. The Guardian reports that the new injury leaves Wan-Bissaka in a questionable state for Manchester United’s Premier League match against Leicester City on September 14. With Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot both injured already, it leaves the Red Devils worryingly thin at full-back.
The 21-year-old moved to Manchester United from Crystal Palace this summer in a $60 million move, and has been fantastic thus far, living up to his reputation as a tackling wizard with a stunning haul of 26 completed tackles in 31 attempts thus far. Still, Manchester United has struggled to open the season, winning just one of its first four Premier League matches.
