Guehi withdraws from England squad with injury after City's 3-1 defeat to Forest

Marc Guehi has withdrawn from the England squad and will stay at Manchester City’s Etihad Campus during the international break, the club confirmed, after the defender was substituted at half time in Saturday’s 3-1 Premier League defeat to Nottingham Forest.

Guehi had been included in Thomas Tuchel’s 25-man squad for UEFA Nations League fixtures against Croatia and Spain, but his early exit at the City Ground raised immediate concerns. City head coach Enzo Maresca confirmed post-match that Guehi had asked to come off with a suspected injury, and the club subsequently released a statement explaining his withdrawal from international duty. Newcastle United’s Dan Burn has been called up as his replacement.

“Our No.6 will instead remain with the club ahead of the return of domestic football when we face Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday, November 21,” City said in their statement.

The news deepens City’s defensive injury concerns heading into the break. Maresca also revealed that Josko Gvardiol had asked to be replaced during the Forest defeat after feeling a ‘small issue’ during the week, adding another potential problem at the back for the club to manage.

Further compounding matters, Abdukodir Khusanov has pulled out of the Uzbekistan national team for their friendlies against Russia and Saudi Arabia. The extent of his injury remains unclear, though the defender did complete the full 90 minutes at the weekend.

Maresca had already flagged on Friday that Nico O’Reilly was ‘not 100 per cent fit’ after missing out on an England call-up, with the midfielder requiring recovery work over the break. Antoine Semenyo is also sidelined with a leg injury sustained in October and is not expected to return until December.

With Fulham visiting on November 21, City will be hoping for positive news on several fronts before Premier League football resumes.