£51m Arsenal defender cleared to play after injury scare

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Ezri Konsa has recovered from the minor injury that kept him on the bench against the Czech Republic and is available for England again, Thomas Tuchel has confirmed.

The centre-back, who joined Arsenal from Aston Villa for £51million this summer, picked up the problem in the aftermath of England's 3-2 defeat to Spain last Saturday, a game he started. He was named among the substitutes for Tuesday's 2-0 Nations League win over the Czech Republic but was not used.

Konsa took part in Friday's full group training session at the home of Croatian club HNK Rijeka and is now expected to be available for England's away fixture in Croatia on Saturday.

Tuchel delivers the update

Speaking after the session, the England head coach left little doubt about the defender's condition.

"It seems that Ezri Konsa is back," Tuchel said. "He did the full training today and this is of course a lot of hope for tomorrow, because he is a key player for us."

Tuchel added: "Nico O'Reilly our left-back left the camp, and on the right side [of centre-back], we have some competition and Marc [Guehi] should be ready to go and very likely to start."

Manchester City's O'Reilly was the one absentee from the group. He was left out of the squad for the Czech Republic game and has since returned to his club for treatment, ruling him out of both the Croatia trip and next Tuesday's home game against the Czechs.

"He unfortunately had to leave camp to get treatment as soon as possible," Tuchel said of O'Reilly. "With his discomfort, it was just too painful. He could not come back on the pitch. He is the only one who is not available. Everyone else started training and finished training today."

What it means for Arsenal

The update carries obvious significance for Mikel Arteta's side. Konsa's summer move from Villa Park made him one of Arsenal's headline defensive additions, and any extended absence picked up on international duty would have landed at an awkward moment in the calendar.

Instead, the 28-year-old is on track to come through the remainder of the England camp fit, with Arsenal's first fixture after the international break a home meeting with Leeds in the lunchtime kick-off on October 10.

Whether Tuchel opts to start him in Croatia or manage his minutes alongside Marc Guehi remains to be seen, as reported by the Evening Standard. Either way, Arsenal will be watching the weekend's action with one eye firmly on their new defender.