Christos Tzolis will reportedly return to Arsenal for assessment on a suspected hamstring injury suffered while on international duty with Greece.
The winger was substituted after just 18 minutes of Thursday night’s 2-2 Nations League draw with the Netherlands at the Toumba Stadium in Thessaloniki, having received treatment on the pitch with his shirt over his face.
Early substitution after disallowed goal
The injury came shortly after Tzolis had got the better of Arsenal team-mate Jurrien Timber and fired home what he thought was the opening goal for Greece, only to see it disallowed for offside against Vangelis Pavlidis.
Sport24 in Greece, along with Greek journalist Dimitris Manakos, report that the £34million summer signing from Club Brugge will make a swift early return to north London, missing Sunday’s clash with Germany in Group A2 as a result.
Jovanovic explains decision
Tzolis tried to carry on following his injury, with Greece head coach Ivan Jovanovic appearing to confirm that the player initially refused to come off before eventually making way for Giorgos Masouras.
“How can I handle it, you tell me,” Jovanovic said, per Sport24. “I'm his coach, I tell him to come out and he says, 'I'm not coming out'.”
Asked if it was on advice from Greece’s medical staff or his own feeling to withdraw Tzolis, Jovanovic was quoted as saying: “A coach's decisions regarding substitutions and the suspected injury of a player, he does not make decisions without a medical opinion. We have doctors, and very good ones at that.”
Wider Arsenal injury concerns
Tzolis is the latest Arsenal player to receive an injury scare during this extended three-week international window, with Martin Odegaard having shaken off an ankle issue to start and play the full 90 minutes for Norway in their 2-1 defeat by Wales in Cardiff on Thursday night.
Ezri Konsa was an unused substitute for England’s 2-0 win in the Czech Republic on Tuesday due to a knock picked up against Spain at Wembley, while Kai Havertz suffered a hamstring injury playing for Germany against the Netherlands last week.
Declan Rice was among the withdrawals from the England squad at the start of the break, while Ben White was unavailable for international selection due to injury, along with Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera. William Saliba remains a long-term absentee.
