Jude Bellingham has joined Luke Shaw on the list of England players ruled out of the Nations League opener against the Republic of Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on September 7th.
The 21-year-old picked up a leg injury during Real Madrid training, having started twice for the Champions League holders – against Atalanta in the Uefa Super Cup final and Mallorca in La Liga – since the Euros final defeat to Spain on July 14th.
“Following tests carried out on our player Jude Bellingham by the Real Madrid medical services, he has been diagnosed with an injury to the plantaris muscle in his right leg,” read a club statement. “He will miss Sunday’s La Liga clash against Real Valladolid and England’s Nations League matches next month against Ireland and Finland.”
Shaw, the Manchester United left back, has a recurring calf problem.
Cole Palmer, the Premier League young player of the year, is expected to replace Bellingham in the starting line-up selected by interim England manager Lee Carsley.
Carsley, who won 40 caps for Ireland, rejected overtures from the FAI to replace Stephen Kenny, choosing to continue coaching the England under-21s before succeeding Gareth Southgate as senior manager for the Nations League B campaign.
Former England left back Ashley Cole will be an assistant coach alongside Carsley, the English Football Association said on Friday. Cole’s former England colleague Joleon Lescott will also join Carsley’s team along with the FA’s head of coaching Tim Dittmer. The trio worked alongside Carsley with the 2023 Under-21 Euro-winning squad.
Former Iceland and Jamaica manager Heimar Hallgrímsson’s first game in charge of Ireland is against England with Greece coming to Dublin three days later.
Hallgrímsson asked his assistant coaches John O’Shea and Paddy McCarthy to select the squad, to be announced at the Aviva next Thursday, while he familiarises himself with the spread of Irish players across English and European clubs.
“There is a lot of hype around the England game but for me the more important game is Greece,” he said this week. “That’s the game that Ireland lost two games to last year, we need to do better in those matches against them.”
Michael Obafemi is expected to be included among a group of young Irish strikers after securing a season-long loan from Burnley to Plymouth Argyle.
“We are thrilled that we have managed to secure the services of Michael,” said Plymouth manager Wayne Rooney. “He fits the profile of player I want as part of the squad and complements the style of play we are looking to implement.”
Republic of Ireland under-21 international Killian Phillips has joined St Mirren, signing on a season-long loan deal from Crystal Palace that includes an obligation to buy next summer. The 22-year-old midfielder, who started his career with Drogheda United, had “a few” offers for his services but opted for Stephen Robinson’s side.
Andrew Moran, who has joined Stoke City on a season-long loan from Blackburn, looks set to captain the Ireland under-21s in Euros qualifiers against Turkey and Latvia next month. Moran was part of senior Ireland squads selected by Kenny last year.