Leeds United star in a 'bad state' days before World Cup opener as national team insider provides update
Leeds United defender Gabriel Gudmundsson is out at the World Cup with Sweden.
Leeds United defender Gabriel Gudmundsson missed Sweden training again on Wednesday through illness, the national team’s press officer has confirmed.
It emerged earlier this week that Gudmundsson had been taken ill, with the Leeds defender not joining his international teammates for training on the Tuesday. The left-back had only just returned from a five-week absence due to a hamstring injury suffered during April’s FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea at Wembley.
Swedish outlet Aftonbladet now reports that Gudmundsson was still absent from training as of Wednesday afternoon, putting his participation in Monday’s World Cup opener vs Tunisia in doubt. They also relayed quotes from Sweden’s press officer, Petra Thorén, who provided an update on the Leeds man.
“Everyone is in training except Gabriel who is still at the hotel,” they told Aftonbladet. “He is still in a bad state. I can’t answer [whether his situation has improved]. I’m not the team’s doctor.
“We don’t go into the health of individual players. He keeps to himself like you do when you’re in a bad way. He has mild symptoms of illness. I won’t go into what it is.”
Aftonbladet added that Gudmundsson would be a ‘given’ in the starting-XI against Tunisia if he can recover from illness. The left-back is head coach Graham Potter’s preferred option at left wing-back and started both crucial World Cup qualifying play-off games.
The Swedish outlet also relayed quotes from Gudmundsson’s teammate Hjalmar Ekdal, who said: “We haven’t received much information about how serious it is. He’s probably in a bad way and isolated as much as he can.”
Sweden kick-off their World Cup campaign against Tunisia in Guadalupe, Mexico on June 15 before facing the Netherlands in Houston, Texas five days later. Gudmundsson’s side then head to Arlington in the same state for a final group stage meeting with Ao Tanaka’s Japan on June 26.