Injuries appear to be growing increasingly common among elite soccer stars, likely due to the demanding schedule of matches. The latest casualty is Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes, who is facing an extended period on the sidelines.
Gabriel’s injury comes at an unfortunate time, coinciding with the international break when his national team, Brazil, has scheduled friendly matches this month. Brazil is set to play against England and Spain on March 24th and 27th, respectively, but Gabriel will be sidelined for both fixtures.
Doríval Junior chooses Gabriel Magalhaes Brazil squad replacement
Gabriel Magalhaes has been dropped from the Brazil squad after initially being selected for their March friendlies due to his injury. The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) announced that 13 other players will also miss the games, including Manchester United midfielder Casemiro.
New manager Dorival Junior has already lined up a replacement, stating that Juventus defender Bremer will fill in for Gabriel in the squad. Bremer has previously represented his nation in three games, two of which were in the last World Cup.
🚨🇧🇷 Arsenal defender Gabriel withdraws from Brazil squad due to injury, Brazilian Federation announces.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 18, 2024
Juventus defender Bremer replaces Gabriel as decided by coach Doríval Junior. pic.twitter.com/MfCghLj2GA
Gabriel has represented Brazil six times in his career so far, making his debut last year. Despite not featuring in the 2022 World Cup, his impressive performances for Arsenal earned him a call-up last year. He has played in all six of their World Cup Qualifiers so far.
With almost half of their preferred squad out through injury, Brazil faces two heavyweight European sides in their upcoming friendlies. While these are only friendly matches, they are of high stakes and will require careful navigation.
How did Gabriel Magalhaes sustain his injury?
Gabriel Magalhaes’ injury is unknown at this point, and the full extent of it has also not been revealed. He was in the Brazil squad for their upcoming games, but suffered an injury in their training camp. He was then promptly allowed to return back to his club for a full assessment of his injury.
Arsenal will not like one of their key players to be injured for long ahead of a crucial list of games they will be facing. They are already without two Brazilian players Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus.
Magalhaes has been quite important for the club in the back, and is a major reason for their great defensive record so far this season. The Gunners will hope that the international break will be enough for the player to get back to full fitness.
Arsenal’s next game will be after the international break, and it will be a title-deciding game against Manchester City on March 31.
