Piero Hincapie has withdrawn from Ecuador’s squad for the upcoming game against the Netherlands, becoming the ninth Arsenal player to pull out of national duty over this window.
The 24-year-old played 72 minutes of his nation’s 1-1 draw against Morocco on Friday, but Ecuador said on Sunday the defender would return to his club side “to begin his recovery process” following medical tests, which were not disclosed.
On Saturday night, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice both departed from the England camp before the team’s friendly against Japan on Tuesday, and were returning to Arsenal for “medical assessment”.
That followed the withdrawal of Noni Madueke, who went to ground after a collision with Uruguay’s Rodrigo Aguirre in the 38th minute of Friday’s 1-1 draw at Wembley.
Madueke got back to his feet, but then sank back to the turf shortly afterwards and was quickly replaced by Jarrod Bowen as Madueke went limping down the tunnel.
After the match, Madueke walked through Wembley’s media mixed zone with a knee brace on his left leg.
Noni Madueke has just walked through the mixed zone at Wembley with a brace on his left leg. He had to be substituted in the first half after colliding with Uruguay’s Rodrigo Aguirre. @TheAthleticFC #AFC pic.twitter.com/5t4qMNqoPZ
— Dan Sheldon (@Dan_Sheldon_) March 27, 2026
“I’m very sad and upset and hopefully it’s not a big injury,” England coach Thomas Tuchel said of Madueke after the match.
Eberechi Eze had withdrawn from England’s squad at the start of the break and is set to be sidelined for at least a month with a calf injury.
Separately, William Saliba (France), Gabriel (Brazil), Leandro Trossard (Belgium) and Jurrien Timber (Netherlands) all withdrew from their squads at the start of the break. Arsenal said the quartet of players would “instead remain at the club during the international break to continue their treatments”.
Aside from the nine withdrawals from international duty, Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard has been out since the win over Tottenham Hotspur on February 22, while Mikel Merino is expected to miss months of action with a foot injury.
Arsenal return to action on April 4 away to Championship side Southampton at the quarter-final stage of the FA Cup, before a trip to Lisbon to play Sporting Club in the first leg of their Champions League last-eight tie three days later (April 7).
Arteta’s side’s next Premier League game is at home to Bournemouth on April 11, four days ahead of the visit of Sporting, with an away game at second-placed Manchester City on April 19 and a home match against Newcastle United on April 25.
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