England have been handed a potential injury concern with Arsenal attacker Bukayo Saka ahead of next month's Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia.
The 21-year-old was revealed to have been carrying a knock before the visit of Wolverhampton Wanderers to the Emirates on Sunday, with Mikel Arteta confessing that he had been nursing the issue for a number of weeks.
However, Saka was passed fit to start on the right-hand side for the final day of the Premier League season and netted his 15th goal of the campaign with a sumptuous curling strike into the far corner.
Saka's goal was Arsenal's third on the day, as Arteta's men ended a positive season with a 5-0 thrashing of the West Midlands outfit, but the attacker did not come out of the game unscathed.
Having been the victim of several rough challenges on the day, Saka went down for treatment early on in the second half and briefly carried on before being replaced by Reiss Nelson on the hour mark.
The England international was seen taking part in the lap of honour at the end of the game, though, suggesting that his affliction is not a serious one.
Nevertheless, Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate could do without any fitness concerns over the Arsenal starlet, who ends the domestic season on 15 goals and 11 assists from 48 matches, finishing as the Gunners' joint-top scorer alongside Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard.
Saka, who recently penned a new four-year contract with Arsenal, also has an impressive set of statistics to boast at international level, scoring eight goals and providing seven assists in 26 games for England since making his debut in October 2020.
The 21-year-old produced a man-of-the-match performance in England's 2-0 Euro 2024 qualifying win over Ukraine in March, setting up Harry Kane before finding the back of the net himself three minutes later at Wembley.
Southgate is already working without a plethora of big-name attackers for June's fixtures, namely Chelsea's Raheem Sterling, who has endured a difficult first season at Stamford Bridge.
The 28-year-old has shown signs of improvement during the latter stages of the season, but Southgate revealed that he came to an agreement with Sterling to leave him out of the squad in order to help him return to peak fitness over the summer.
Sterling's fellow Blue Mason Mount is also out of contention as he recovers from pelvic surgery, while Ivan Toney is serving an eighth-month ban for breaching the FA's betting rules.
Furthermore, Manchester City duo Jack Grealish and Phil Foden have both been selected, but the pair are unlikely to be available for both of England's games due to their participation in the Champions League final.
The Citizens will meet Inter Milan in the showpiece event in Istanbul on June 10, six days before England travel to Ta' Qali for their showdown with Malta on June 16.
Southgate's side, who sit top of Euro 2024 qualifying Group C with two wins from their opening two games, then host North Macedonia at Old Trafford three days later. body check tags ::
