Arsenal dealt fresh injury worry as £50.5m defender withdraws from national team

Arsenal have been handed a fresh injury concern ahead of their return to Premier League action, as Ezri Konsa has pulled out of the England squad.

The 28-year-old started two of the Three Lions' first three UEFA Nations League games in the current international break, featuring in the 3-2 loss to Spain and 7-0 win over Croatia.

Konsa completed the full 90 minutes of Saturday's emphatic victory alongside Marc Guehi in defence, and the ex-Aston Villa man was in contention to keep his place against the Czech Republic on Tuesday.

However, England announced on Monday morning that Konsa had returned to Arsenal for further assessment on an unspecified injury, withdrawing alongside Alex Scott after the Bournemouth midfielder suffered a serious thigh problem.

"Ezri Konsa and Alex Scott have been ruled out of Tuesday’s UEFA Nations League meeting with Czechia at Wembley. The pair have returned to their respective clubs for further assessment," a statement on englandfootball.com read.

Thomas Tuchel will seemingly not call up a replacement for Konsa, as the statement continued: "Thomas Tuchel will continue his preparations for the final fixture of this international window with a squad of 22 players."

How big a blow is Ezri Konsa injury for Arsenal?

At the time of writing, there is still no firm information on the nature or severity of Konsa's injury, as Arsenal have not released any official communication.

As a result, the defender's withdrawal could simply be a precautionary one, although there is now concern over his availability for upcoming matches against Leeds United (October 10) and Lille (October 13).

Any period of absence for Konsa would represent a serious blow for Arsenal, as the Englishman has cemented a place in the starting XI alongside Gabriel Magalhaes during Cristhian Mosquera and William Saliba's time on the sidelines.

Konsa has started each of Arsenal's last four games across the Premier League and Champions League, but there is already reason to hope that his problem is not a major one.

The 28-year-old has only missed 11 games in his career due to injury, according to Transfermarkt, most recently a minor hamstring issue that sidelined him for two weeks in February 2025.

How can Arsenal replace Ezri Konsa?

Should Konsa's issue prove serious enough to rule him out of one or more fixtures, Arteta risks being without four right-sided central options in the Englishman, Ben White, Saliba and Mosquera.

Arsenal have received a boost over Saliba, but the Frenchman will not make his return imminently, and it remains to be seen if Mosquera or White's respective hamstring and groin problems settle down in time for Leeds.

Neither man is carrying a serious issue, so Arteta may have one or both available this weekend, or he may be forced into playing at least one defensively-minded player out of position.

Alternative options include partnering Gabriel with either Piero Hincapie or Riccardo Calafiori, or starting Martin Zubimendi or Declan Rice as an emergency right-back, allowing Jurrien Timber to operate centrally.

Rice is carrying an injury concern of his own, though, having also withdrawn from the England squad with a suspected thigh issue.