Greece manager Ivan Jovanović says Arsenal‘s Christos Tzolis left the pitch in their 2-2 draw against Netherlands on Thursday because he ‘felt something’.
The Arsenal summer signing started the two UEFA Nations League matches against Serbia and Germany. He even scored in their 2-1 win over Serbia.
Jovanović again started him against Oranje, but the winger left the pitch after 18 minutes, and Neom SC’s Georgios Masouras replaced him.
Arsenal player refused to leave
In his post-match press conference, the national team manager said the 24-year-old initially wanted to continue. He had to take Christos Tzolis off the pitch to protect him and EPT News have relayed his comments.
Ivan Jovanović says there’s no clarity about the severity of the Arsenal player’s setback.
He said: “How to handle that? I ask him, ‘Are you going to come off?’ He says no. That’s something that characterises Greek players who play for the national team, regardless of age.”
“If he hadn’t felt something, he wouldn’t have made that move. We don’t know yet how serious the injury is. I thought it was a cramp and something temporary. First and foremost, I wanted to protect him; he didn’t want to stay close to me, and then he came off the field.”
Tzolis leaves NT and will return to Arsenal
Greece’s last fixture of this international break is against Germany on Sunday and SDNA states he will miss this clash.
Ivan Jovanović won’t be able to count on the key player, who suffered a strain against the Netherlands. Therefore, he will ‘immediately return’ to the Emirates.
Christos Tzolis will undergo tests on Friday to determine whether it’s a minor or serious blow. It’s unclear whether he’ll carry out them with the national team or after returning to Arsenal. His latest setback is a concern for Mikel Arteta, who will wait for these results.
The manager has already seen Kai Havertz withdrawing from the Germany squad. Martin Ødegaard suffered an ankle injury against Portugal last weekend. However, the midfielder started in Norway’s 2-1 defeat to Wales on Thursday.
Tzolis is yet to score and contributed four assists from eight matches for the Gunners.
