Sunderland duo withdraw from international duty amid injury update
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Sunderland duo Jobe Bellingham and Dan Ballard have both withdrawn from international duty, their respective FAs have confirmed.
Teenage midfielder Bellingham was called up to represent England’s Elite League squad, formerly known as the U20s, in a double-header against Italy and Czechia, while Ballard was expected to feature for Northern Ireland in UEFA Nations League clashes against Belarus and Bulgaria. Both will now return to Wearside, however.
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Hide AdIt is unclear at this stage as to why Bellingham has dropped out of England’s plans - although it is worth emphasising that there is no suggestion of an injury at this stage, and that he was involved in a similar situation during last month’s international break, sitting out a 2-0 win over Romania despite having received a nod from the Young Lions.
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For his part, Ballard has withdrawn from Northern Ireland’s camp due to an ongoing ankle problem. The centre-back was absent from Sunderland’s match day squad for contests with Derby County and Leeds United last week, and eyebrows were raised when he was named in Michael O’Neill’s squad in the first place.
Speaking after Friday’s 2-2 draw with Leeds, Black Cats head coach Regis Le Bris addressed a number of lingering absences that his side have had to contend with in recent weeks, with Ballard among those widely expected to be available in the aftermath of the international break.
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Hide AdHe said: “They now have time to develop and get ready to perform. With Aaron [Connolly], we didn’t want to rush the process. He was on the bench, and we thought that maybe by being there, he could be useful for the team. But it was too high risk [to bring him on] because he probably needs to play for 45 minutes with the U21s. Then after that, maybe 60 minutes or 65 in the next game.
“For Milan [Aleksic], that is really the case as well. Hopefully, he will be playing with his national team and that will give him time to develop and grow. He also needs to find a link with the team here because it is a new experience and hopefully we will have two, three or four more players back for the team soon. That will be important for the squad.”
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