Marli Salmon Withdraws from England Under-18 Squad Due to Injury
Marli Salmon’s England Under-18 debut will have to wait.
The 17-year-old Arsenal defender has pulled out of Will Antwi’s latest Under-18 squad through injury, cutting short what was shaping into a breakthrough fortnight for the highly rated youngster.
Just days ago, Salmon was riding the high of his first senior appearance of the season, coming off the bench in Arsenal’s 4-2 EFL Cup win over Ipswich Town. That outing looked like the springboard: club minutes, then a first taste of Under-18 international football.
Instead, the defender has been forced to withdraw from England duty, with the exact nature of his injury still unclear. He had been named in the squad for friendlies against Colombia, Egypt and South Korea, a natural next step after four caps at Under-17 level.
The setback has opened the door for Chelsea defender Gabriel Sambou, who has represented both Poland and England in youth football and now steps into Antwi’s group.
For Salmon, the focus turns back to London Colney. He will continue his recovery with Arsenal’s medical staff and, if the issue proves minor, is expected to be back in action for the club’s Under-21s in a Premier League 2 fixture against Sunderland on October 10. That is, of course, unless Mikel Arteta decides his senior squad needs him for the Premier League clash with Leeds on the same day.
Salmon’s withdrawal comes against a wider backdrop of fitness management at Arsenal and with England. On the same day, Declan Rice also pulled out of Thomas Tuchel’s senior England squad. His absence is understood to be related to load management after a relentless year in which he played 55 games for Arsenal last season and seven matches at the World Cup. The 27-year-old has already started six of Arsenal’s eight games this term, including all five in the Premier League.
Defender Piero Hincapie has also been left out of Ecuador’s squad amid concerns over his fitness, underlining how early-season strain is already shaping international selections.
For Salmon, the question now is simple: can a brief pause in momentum be turned into a platform for an even stronger return when October arrives?
