Arsenal striker Kai Havertz leaves Germany camp early because of muscle strain

Arsenal striker Kai Havertz leaves Germany camp early because of muscle strain | iNFOnews.ca
Germany's Serge Gnabry, left, and Kai Havertz attend a training session in Herzogenaurach, Germany, Tuesday Sept. 22, 2026, ahead of the Nations League soccer match against the Netherlands on Thursday. (Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP)

BERLIN (AP) — Kai Havertz was sent back to Arsenal on Friday after sustaining a leg muscle strain on international duty in Germany’s 1-1 draw with the Netherlands in the Nations League.

The forward left Thursday night’s game in the 30th minute clutching the back of his left thigh, but the German team’s diagnosis was only a strain.

Havertz, who missed time last year with a knee injury, has started every Premier League game this season, picked ahead of Viktor Gyokeres in the battle for the striker spot for the English champions. Havertz has scored two goals in five league games this campaign.

Havertz was not the only early departure from Germany’s camp. Jamal Musiala sustained a “torn muscle fiber” in his right thigh during warmups Thursday and has returned to Bayern Munich, the German federation added Friday.

Florian Wirtz and Jonathan Burkardt were called in earlier than planned to replace the pair. They could be available to play Sunday when Germany hosts Greece in Augsburg.

Arsenal striker Kai Havertz leaves Germany camp early because of muscle strain | iNFOnews.ca
German players pose before the UEFA Nations League soccer match between the Netherlands and Germany in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Germany coach Jürgen Klopp had selected a whopping 44 players in two separate squads for the four-match Nations League stretch.

Arsenal striker Kai Havertz leaves Germany camp early because of muscle strain | iNFOnews.ca
Bayern’s Jamal Musiala, second from right, and Union’s Andras Schaefer, left, challenge for the ball during the Bundesliga soccer match between Bayern Munich and 1. FC Union Berlin in Munich, Germany, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

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