Jarrod Bowen’s knee injury is NOT as bad as first feared after the West Ham star pulled out of England squad to face North Macedonia… with the Hammers hoping the winger won’t be sidelined by the issue

• Jarrod Bowen withdrew from the England squad after picking up a knee injury 
• West Ham sources claim it was precautionary and that he won’t be out for long 
• England will struggle to win a trophy with Kalvin Phillips – It’s All Kicking Off

West Ham insiders are playing down the knee injury which has forced Jarrod Bowen to withdraw from Gareth Southgate’s England camp.

Sources say the withdrawal was a precautionary one with Bowen back at their Rush Green training ground for assessments after the knock.

West Ham hope Bowen will not be sidelined by the issue, particularly with Michail Antonio facing a lengthy lay-off due to a knee ligament injury.

Antonio injured his knee while away with Jamaica, leaving West Ham short of striker options. 

Manager David Moyes has taken to using Bowen up front, with Danny Ings and Divin Mubama further down the pecking order.

Jarrod Bowen’s knee injury is not thought to be as bad as first feared after leaving England squad

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Bowen will miss England’s Euro 2024 qualifier against North Macedonia as a result of the knock and it remains to be seen if he will be deemed fit enough for West Ham’s Premier League trip to Burnley on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Tomas Soucek suffered a nasty head injury while away with the Czech Republic, who also sent Vladimir Coufal home after an unsolicited visit to a nightclub while on international duty. 

Jakub Brabec and Jan Kuchta were also dismissed by their Czech bosses after breaking the rules.

Bowen, 26, reported for international duty last week and was an unused substitute in the 2-0 win over Malta on Friday night. 

The Hammers are hopeful Bowen will not be sidelined after sustaining a knock in training 

Southgate confirmed Bowen’s withdrawal from the squad during a press conference on Sunday ahead of England’s trip to the Tose Proeski Arena.

‘Unfortunately Jarrod Bowen has picked up a bit of a knock in training which needs a little bit more assessment before we’re completely clear whether it would be the right thing to play or not.’ the England boss said. 

‘I don’t think it’s going to be anything serious. But we just didn’t have enough time and we wouldn’t take a risk in that situation.’ 

England are now faced with a diminished squad as they head into their final qualifying match for Euro 2024, with Jude Bellingham and James Maddison amongst the absentees for the winter international break. 

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