With Gareth Southgate set to confirm his 26-man England squad for Euro 2020, Manchester United confirmed the withdrawal of the teenager.
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Teenage sensation Mason Greenwood has pulled out of England’s provisional Euro 2020 squad due to an “underlying injury”, Manchester United have confirmed. Earlier, England head coach Gareth Southgate had selected the 19-year-old in a provisional 33-man squad for the upcoming tournament. It was anyway not clear whether he would remain in a final 26-player squad that will be announced later on Tuesday. His club form of late might have been a reason behind the young striker’s inclusion in the provisional squad.
Greenwood scored eight goals in his last 14 appearances for United in the business end of the season. But in a squad that has skipper Harry Kane, Everton forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins, Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, and Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling fighting for the attacking places, Greenwood had little chance of making the final cut. After his withdrawal, neither the club nor the country has confirmed the nature of the injury.
“Manchester United striker Mason Greenwood has withdrawn from the provisional England Euro 2020 squad, in order to recover fully from an underlying injury that also kept him out of the Under-21 European Championship in March,” a club statement said.
“Mason’s club appearances were managed carefully to maintain his availability through the intensive 2020/21 Premier League and Europa League schedules. But a further spell of tournament football would not be beneficial and Mason will remain at Manchester United to recuperate and prepare for pre-season training.”
Due to the updated rules in place, Southgate will reportedly be able to make changes to his squad up until England’s opening match on June 13th in the case of an injury. Greenwood had made his international debut in September last year in Iceland. However, he was sent home following the match after breaching team protocols along with Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden.
He is yet to make an appearance since. This was seen as a chance at redemption for the young forward, however, the injury has forced him to wait longer to make a mark with the national team. The most beneficial player from his withdrawal would be Ollie Watkins. He could be selected as the third striker behind Kane and Calvert-Lewin.
