Tuchel braced for more England withdrawals after Guehi injury scare

Marc Guehi is a major fitness worry for England’s Nations League double header.

Manchester City defender Guehi went off at half-time of their defeat at Nottingham Forest and will undergo a scan on a hip problem before reporting up.

England stars are due to join up with England on Monday ahead of the games with Croatia and Spain and the Football Association’s medical staff may want to assess any fitness issues.

Last time there were a raft of withdrawals including Cole Palmer and Declan Rice and there are unlikely to be so many injuries this time.

But England boss Thomas Tuchel will take a roll call on the squad he named last Friday when they join on Monday at Tottenham ’s training ground.

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Tuchel revealed that he has told several players they are likely to be on standby if there are any injuries and Arsenal’s Noni Madueke missed out but was believed to be “close” so he could come in if there are issues for the forward line.

Guehi has become Tuchel’s No1 defender so England will be hoping he makes it as they must get results against both opponents to top their Group and clinch home advantage next March.

Guehi started in all but one of England's games at the World Cup and all four of the team's Nations League fixtures in September and October.

Asked about Guehi post-match, City boss Enzo Maresca said: "Both injury, both asked for change. Marc Guehi injury and Josko Gvardiol had some issues already during the week. So it was just because they had problems."

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England face Croatia at Wembley on Thursday, 12 November, before travelling to Madrid to face World Cup winners Spain on Saturday, 15 November.

Tuchel has made it clear that he will show loyalty to those players who continue to show up and work hard on the training pitch. "It's always the ones who are in camp, the ones who don't withdraw," he said this week.

"The ones who walk the talk, and come to camp and show it matters and put the quality in. That's what we will always reward. It matters what you do in camp. The last camp was an excellent one, so the trust and belief is on the players who were there."

On the competition for places, the England boss added: "The [last] camp was excellent and we were happy with the last two-and-a-half weeks we had together. The impact of all the players was immense throughout the whole camp, that's why we stick mainly with the group and all the offensive players.