Spain boss reveals injury 'worry' over Arsenal midfielder

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Martin Zubimendi gave Arsenal supporters a scare on international duty, but Spain boss Luis de la Fuente has moved quickly to play down any injury concern.

The midfielder was withdrawn with 20 minutes remaining of Spain's win over Croatia after appearing to indicate he had picked up a problem, reaching for the back of his leg before being replaced.

De la Fuente, however, revealed that the issue was nothing more than tightness brought on by a lack of regular minutes at club level this season.

"There was a moment when I got worried because he put his hand on the back of his leg, but he shook his head to say no [injury]," the Spain manager said.

"When he came off, he told me that he has played a lot of matches without getting many minutes and that he was feeling some tightness in his calves."

A quiet season so far

Zubimendi's explanation reflects a stop-start campaign. His only start for Arsenal this season came in the Carabao Cup against Ipswich, and he has accumulated just 90 minutes of Premier League football across five substitute appearances.

That made the Croatia fixture a rare opportunity for a full outing, having been an unused substitute when Spain beat England at Wembley on Saturday.

For a player whose rhythm has been limited at club level, the calf tightness is the kind of detail that tends to follow sporadic minutes rather than signal a deeper problem.

Arteta's wider international break picture

The reassurance arrives at the end of a break that has handed Mikel Arteta several things to monitor.

Kai Havertz returned to the club after suffering a hamstring injury in Germany's first match of the window, with no update provided by Arsenal on the severity of that issue.

Martin Odegaard, meanwhile, picked up an ankle problem against Portugal following a challenge from Bernardo Silva. According to the Evening Standard, that is not believed to be a significant concern for the Arsenal captain.

Ezri Konsa was also affected, with a minor injury keeping him out of England training earlier in the week, though he recovered sufficiently to take a place on the bench against the Czech Republic.

Against that backdrop, De la Fuente's clarification removes one name from the list of worries ahead of the resumption of club football.

Arsenal's medical staff will now assess the returning internationals, with the fitness of Havertz the most pressing unresolved question of the three. Zubimendi, by contrast, looks set to report back without complication — and may find that more consistent minutes are exactly what his calves have been asking for.