Former Arsenal star joins Mikel Arteta duo in England withdrawal after huge injury blow

Former Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale is set to undergo surgery after fracturing his finger while playing for Southampton. The 26-year-old sustained the injury during their 2-0 defeat at Wolves over the weekend - a defeat that moved Saints to the bottom of the Premier League table.

Ramsdale left Arsenal after three years in August to join Southampton in a deal worth around £25million. He made his debut in a 3-1 defeat at Brentford at the end of that month and has since made a further eight top-flight appearances, keeping one clean sheet and conceding 16 goals.

Despite that, Ramsdale has made 36 saves across those matches, averaging four per-game - the second-most in the Premier League this season. However, the 26-year-old is now set for a spell on the sidelines. According to The Athletic, Ramsdale has suffered a suspected fractured his finger and requires surgery on Wednesday.

Southampton confirmed in a statement that Ramsdale has been forced to withdraw from England duty on Monday but didn't confirm the extent of the issue.

"Aaron Ramsdale has been forced to withdraw from the latest England squad due to injury," Southampton said. "The goalkeeper will miss the Nations League contests against Greece and Republic of Ireland due to an injury picked up in Saturday’s Premier League game against Wolves. Ramsdale will now remain with the medical staff at Staplewood Campus over the international break."

Ramsdale is among eight players who have pulled out of representing England during the international break. Arsenal duo Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice have also withdrawn ahead of Thursday's trip to Greece and Sunday's game at home against Republic of Ireland at Wembley.

Speaking on Saka and Rice after Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Sunday, Mikel Arteta said: "It doesn’t look good, because for two players of that importance to tell you they cannot continue in the game, it’s not good news.

"I don’t know whether to expect them to be fit because if not they don’t come off. What I'm praying for is that after the international break we have the team fully physically equipped, that they are available and that they are fit, because it's been a nightmare for eight weeks."

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