Gylfi Sigurdsson will be unavailable for Iceland’s Nations League clash against Belgium in Brussels because of the injury he sustained in Everton’s goalless draw at Chelsea.
The midfielder was caught on the ankle by a challenge from Jorginho in the first half at Stamford Bridge on Sunday and he limped off with a little less than a quarter of an hour to go.
Toffees manager Marco Silva was critical of the tackle and hopes he will not lose Sigurdsson for an extended period, but the 29-year-old will be absent for Iceland’s trip to Brussels on Thursday.
The Football Association of Iceland said in a tweet: “Gylfi Sigurdsson is injured and will not join the @footballiceland squad ahead of @UEFAEURO match vs @BelRedDevils on Nov 15th.”
Iceland’s relegation from the top tier of the Nations League has already been confirmed after losing all three of their Group Two fixtures, conceding 11 goals in the process.
It is not known whether Sigurdsson will return for Iceland’s friendly against Qatar next Monday.
Sigurdsson has been an important presence in the Everton side this season, scoring five times in the Premier League, and the club will be keeping their fingers crossed he is not set for an extended period on the sidelines.
Everton welcome Cardiff to Goodison Park after the international break on November 24 before making the short trip to Anfield eight days later to take on Merseyside rivals Liverpool.
ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Press Association Sport staff');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '39fb7d2a-706c-4e84-90bc-68e12346c825');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:club-news,paservice:sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Injured Sigurdsson pulls out of Iceland squad'});