Before Switzerland’s match against England in the Euro 2024 quarterfinals, Granit Xhaka will get scans on an injury.
With a convincing 2-0 victory against Italy last week, the Swiss were the first team to secure their spot in the round of eight, outclassing the reigning champions on Saturday afternoon.
In the meanwhile, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham saved England on Sunday in Gelsenkirchen after they fell behind Slovakia by a goal.
While the Three Lions have laboured in reaching the final eight, Switzerland’s win over Italy laid down a serious marker with Xhaka integral to their plans, turning in excellent displays in Germany off the back of a thrilling club campaign with Bayer Leverkusen.
The 31-year-old is expected to be among England’s biggest problems on Saturday evening but the midfielder has revealed he has been dealing with a muscle injury that caused him to skip training last Thursday.
Xhaka explained he felt the problem again during the final stages of the win over Italy but is hopeful the issue will ease in time for the England clash.
‘We practiced penalty shootouts before the Italy game,’ Xhaka told a press conference on Sunday, Blick report. ‘On my first attempt I felt something in my left adductor. That’s why I skipped training on Thursday. On Friday in the final training session everything was fine again.
‘But in the game I felt it again after 15 minutes. Luckily we have very good doctors who gave me something for it. I was able to play the whole game afterwards, which was important for me.
‘We’ll do an MRI on Monday and see what exactly it is. But I have seven days now to get everything treated.’
Xhaka left Arsenal last summer to end his seven-year spell in north London, going onto achieve remarkable success with Bayer under Xabi Alonso. He is now chasing more glory on the international stage.
Having fallen on the more favourable side of the draw, the winner of England vs Switzerland will fancy their chances of progressing to the final in Berlin this month with the mood in the Swiss camp extremely confident.
‘I’m not going to say we’re going to win the tournament,’ Xhaka said.
But we’re going to exert every effort to arrive there. It seems like we’re not quite done. More than ever, we’re hungry.