Arsenal star drops out of international squad for World Cup
Omar Rekik has been omitted from the Tunisia World Cup team, despite having played in their previous squad and returning from injury just last week.
Twenty-year-old Arsenal loanee Omar Rekik has earned a significant number of appearances for the Tunisia national team, reaching double digits.
Earlier this year, the defender had two appearances at the Africa Cup of Nations, and he was part of the Tunisia team for the September international break.
Monday morning, Tunisia confirmed their World Cup roster, but Rekik was not included.
It is not difficult to determine why Rekik was cut from the team, since he has failed to get on the field this season.
The defender has just played 15 minutes of club football for Sparta Rotterdam’s first team, and to make matters worse, he has missed the last two weeks due to a muscle injury.
Rekik’s return to the Sparta bench on Friday raised a glimmer of optimism that he would be selected to fly to Qatar, but it was not to be.
With the exception of Salah-Eddine Oulad M’hand, who has not played a single minute for Hull City due to injury, Rekik has received the least playing time of any Arsenal loanee this season.
Unlike Oulad M’hand, Rekik has only missed four of his team’s matches due to injuries, participating in the remaining 11 matches. However, he has not been utilized by his loan team.
The only good news is that Rekik now has a month and a half to ensure he has totally recovered from his injury. There is no longer an urgency to begin playing before he is prepared.
Rekik could return to Arsenal in January, before Sparta’s next match on January 7th, based on how this loan has progressed thus far.
Arsenal star drops out of international squad for World Cup
