Newcastle United have experienced yet another player withdrawal during the international break, and this time it involves Anthony Elanga. The winger, who arrived at St James’ Park in a major summer move, has unexpectedly left the Sweden national team camp.
Elanga featured for roughly 80 minutes in Sweden’s first match of the break but was no longer present when the squad regrouped on Monday.
This comes at a turbulent moment for Sweden, who recently made a managerial change after struggling through a series of disappointing results. Jon Dahl Tomasson was dismissed at the end of the previous international window, a decision many felt placed too much of the blame on his shoulders.
Supporters hoped the team’s key players would step up and immediately show that the squad was stronger than recent performances suggested.
However, under their new manager Graham Potter, Sweden suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat to Switzerland. The team looked far from settled, and without a fortunate Nations League position, they wouldn’t even be involved in the upcoming World Cup play-offs. Confidence is fragile, and the squad has already been hit by several injury-related withdrawals over the past few days.
Elanga’s situation, though, is reportedly unrelated to those issues. According to Petra Thorén, a spokesperson for the Swedish national team, the Newcastle United forward has left the camp for “private reasons.”
The statement was brief, and the Swedish staff have not elaborated further. As a result, Elanga will not be available for the upcoming match against Slovenia. Thorén’s comments were shared by Fotbollskanalen, who also noted that the Swedish camp is choosing not to provide any additional details at this time.
Although Elanga has previously experienced moments of tension around the national team including past concerns about discipline there is no early indication that this departure is connected to any such problems.
In fact, the winger has spoken positively about working with Graham Potter, praising the new manager in recent interviews and expressing excitement about the fresh direction Sweden are trying to take.
For Newcastle United, Elanga’s absence will add to their growing list of international concerns, but there is nothing to suggest he is dealing with an injury.
The hope will be that whatever private matter led to his departure is resolved quickly and that he returns to England fully focused and ready to contribute. Given the club’s busy schedule ahead and Elanga’s importance in their attacking options, they will certainly be eager to have him back as soon as possible.
