March 30 (Reuters) - Arsenal midfielder Martin Zubimendi has withdrawn from the Spain squad due to knee pain, becoming the 10th senior player to return to the Premier League leaders during the international break.
The Spanish Football Federation confirmed on Sunday that the 27-year-old was released from the squad. Zubimendi, who played the final 13 minutes of Spain’s 3-0 victory over Serbia on Friday, reported discomfort in his right knee following the match.
The federation said the decision was made "to avoid any risk and protect the player's health," with the midfielder returning for immediate assessment by Arsenal medical staff.
Zubimendi joined a lengthy list of Arsenal absentees including the England trio of Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Noni Madueke, as well as Ecuador defender Piero Hincapie, all of whom returned to the club over the weekend. While Madueke suffered a knock in the 1-1 friendly draw against Uruguay, the returns of Rice and Saka were described by the FA as being for "medical assessment" following the club’s recent heavy workload.
French defender William Saliba, Brazil defender Gabriel Magalhaes, Dutch full back JurrienTimber, Belgian forward Leandro Trossard, and England forward Eberechi Eze were all unavailable for their countries.
Norwegian Martin Odegaard also remained in London to continue his recovery from a knee issue that has kept him out in recent weeks.
Arsenal hold a nine-point Premier League lead over Manchester City but face a season-defining April. Following their League Cup final loss to City, Arteta's team face an FA Cup quarter-final at Southampton on April 4, a Champions League quarter-final against Portugal's Sporting, and a league game against City.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk, editing by Ed Osmond)
