Sunderland: Regis Le Bris to be on alert as Switzerland abandon Granit Xhaka plans
Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris will be watching closely as Switzerland have abandoned plans to start Granit Xhaka against Norway.
Xhaka has been dealing with an ankle injury that forced him to miss five Sunderland matches, prior to his recent return to action.
However, the 33-year-old was taken off midway through Switzerland’s lively 4-3 friendly defeat to Germany last week.
It was later explained that was pre-planned, with Xhaka then expected to start against Norway in Oslo on Tuesday.
But those plans have now changed, with Xhaka still not entirely over his injury issues.
Switzerland manager explains Granit Xhaka absence from training
As per Blick, Switzerland boss Murat Yakin wanted to use Xhaka from the start against Norway.
However, he was not part of group training on the eve of the match and this has now been explained by Yakin himself.
| Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 6 | 1 |
| 2012 | 9 | 2 |
| 2013 | 8 | 1 |
| 2014 | 10 | 1 |
| 2015 | 6 | 1 |
| 2016 | 11 | 0 |
| 2017 | 9 | 2 |
| 2018 | 13 | 2 |
| 2019 | 10 | 2 |
| 2020 | 7 | 0 |
| 2021 | 9 | 0 |
| 2022 | 13 | 0 |
| 2023 | 10 | 2 |
| 2024 | 14 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 2 |
| Total | 143 | 16 |
“He’s showing the effects of the heavy workload. He can’t start,” Yakin told reporters.
The same report adds that it is not clear if Xhaka will be left out of the squad entirely, or named among the substitutes and potentially brought on late on.
It is also pointed out, though, that no unnecessary risks will be taken on the captain, so that surely points towards him being left out altogether.
Sunderland fixture list kind to Xhaka
Xhaka’s injury setback was a blow for Sunderland, but he has been back for the past couple of matches, playing a full part in the loss to Brighton and win over Newcastle United.
Thankfully, it does not sound as though he has suffered any sort of issue while with Switzerland – it’s more a case of not wanting to take needless risks for some friendly matches.
And the good news for Sunderland is that there are still another 13 days to go until Le Bris’ men return to action with a visit of Tottenham.
That gives Xhaka more than enough time to fully get over this problem and work his way back to full fitness on the training ground.
Credit must also go to Yakin for that, as he clearly knows what is best for the player and his country in the long term.
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