THOMAS TUCHEL has given an injury update on Noni Madueke after his early knock against Uruguay.
The Arsenal winger got the nod to start in the international friendly at Wembley on Friday night.
But after a strong early performance, Madueke was clattered by Rodrigo Aguirre in the opposition box, and stayed down.
VAR chose not to intervene in the incident, and despite him trying to carry on, Madueke was soon substituted for Jarrod Bowen just before the 40-minute mark.
Madueke was later seen leaving the stadium in a knee brace, sparking more concern over a potentially lengthy absence for the 24-year-old.
Tuchel addressed the injury after the match, but admitted the exact extent of the knock remains to be seen.
Tuchel said: “I’m worried, of course. Very sad and upset and hopefully it’s not a big injury.
“It was the tackle. I think it was on the edge, the tackle, within the box. But they didn’t check it.”
England powered on with Bowen on the wing, and thought they had secured a late win through Madueke’s fellow Gunner Ben White‘s back-post tap-in.
But a wayward foot from the same man was deemed to have clipped a Uruguay boot in the box, to hand Fede Valverde the chance to equalise from the spot in injury time.
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Despite the result, Tuchel was full of praise for his side, including Madueke.
He said: “He started well, he was full of energy, he was ready to go.
“Against a team like Uruguay, who rely on one-on-ones, to isolate them, he makes the spaces open up and he could have been a key player for us, which he is.”
The knock could impact Madueke’s chances of making the squad for the upcoming 2026 World Cup.
And in more immediate terms, the blow will have Mikel Arteta sweating as he looks to hold onto Arsenal’s commanding lead at the top of the Premier League table.
Madueke has been a reliable bench option for the Spanish tactician this season behind Bukayo Saka.
It is rotten luck for the side, for whom Madueke was one of a handful of stars playing after six key squad members pulled out of international duty with injury concerns.
Among them were William Saliba, Gabriel, Martin Odegaard, Eberechi Eze and Leandro Trossard.
Mikel Merino and Jurrien Timber are also recovering from injury issues and are racing to be back to bolster the campaign to bring a Prem title to North London.
