After a year's delay, Euro 2020 will be finally underway this Friday. The extended season meant a lot of managers had to wait until the last minute to declare the availability of their stars.
However, not everyone could make it to the tournament. Fatigue and overall fitness play a major role in the life of a professional athlete. Due to the injury factor, many stars, such as Zlatan Ibrahimović, Sergio Ramos, Virgil van Dijk, and Marc-André Ter Stegen are set to miss the flight for the European championships.
Meanwhile, German star Marco Reus decided to spend his summer at home, to recover after a taxing season. Understandably so, considering he has been known for his proneness to injuries since his early days. It will be the third major tournament that Dortmund forwards will miss since making his Germany debut in 2011.
However, Reus is not the only young player who has been missing on the international stage. Several other young players have been ruled out of the tournament due to injury concerns in this edition as well.
On that note, let's take a look at three young players set to miss UEFA Euro 2020 due to injuries:
#3 Dominik Szoboszlai (Hungary)
Hungary will make a second appearance in the 21st century at the European Championships. However, making it out of the group stage will be almost impossible. This is considering they will be competing with quality opposition like Germany, France, and defending champions Portugal.
Unfortunately, they will be without their creative midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai, who failed to recover in time from a groin injury. The decision was taken in unison by the player's management team, RB Leipzig, and national team coach Marco Rossi.
Dominik Szoboszlai, who has been hailed as the "Hope of Hungary," is one of the most technically gifted players. The 20-year-old was instrumental in the country's qualification bid, scoring a last-gasp winner to propel Hungary past Iceland back in November.
#2 Ansu Fati (Spain)
Spain will be entering the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament without wonder kid Ansu Fati. The Barcelona attacker has been sidelined with a long-term injury since November 2020.
The 18-year old who is held in the highest regard at Camp Nou has already bagged four caps at international level. Fati's goal against Ukraine in September sealed him as the youngest player ever to score a goal for La Roja.
Spain's Euro squad consists of attacking players like Adama Traore, Dani Olmo, Mikel Oyarzabal, and Ferran Torres. Despite that, Ansu Fati would be one of the first names on the teamsheet if not for injury.
The 18-year old has time on his side and will be looking to make a strong comeback from this setback. He is currently in rehabilitation and preparing for the 2021-22 season.
#1 Trent Alexander-Arnold (England)
Trent Alexander-Arnold's inclusion in Gareth Southgate's squad for Euro 2020 was a matter of speculation. The right-back eventually made the cut before getting ruled out of the summer tournament after suffering a thigh injury in the friendly win against Austria.
The 22-year Liverpool star was one of the six full-backs Southgate decided to take to the Euros. Hence, the question of finding a positional replacement was not a difficult pill to swallow.
As the saying goes that one man's loss is another's gain. In this case, it was 23-year old Brighton defender Ben White who gained a call-up to the squad as a replacement after initially being excluded.
England will miss the Liverpool defender's superior qualities in the final third. Trent Alexander-Arnold has provided 32 assists in the last three seasons in the Premier League, the most by a fullback in that time period. He will join Mason Greenwood, who also opted out of the Euro 2020.