Vinicius Junior has admitted he was sad to see Manchester City’s Kyle Walker forced off with an injury in the early stages of England’s defeat to Brazil on Saturday.
The two players have shared some electric battles over the last few years in the Champions League and could be set to lock horns again when City face Real Madrid in the quarter-finals next month.
Now that will entirely hinge on whether Walker’s latest problem is a serious one. The full-back had made a sliding goal-line intervention to prevent Vinicius from scoring and, as a result, left the field holding his hamstring after 20 minutes.
“Ah, it’s all very sad. Every time a player leaves the pitch injured it’s very sad, not only for the player but for all of us who are there on the pitch,” the Brazilian attacker said after the final whistle.
“We want to play against the best, Walker, I always say, he’s the best defender I’ve ever faced and it’s always a very good duel. He respects me a lot and I respect him a lot. Each one defends their side with the greatest will in the world.”
After momentarily hoping he would be able to play on, Walker was then replaced by Ezri Konsa. The Three Lions went on to lose the match – their first defeat to the Brazilians at Wembley in almost 30 years – thanks to a lone strike from 17-year-old prodigy Endrick.
Given Walker’s form and consistency to feature 38 times for his club this campaign, added to the fact City have a crunch clash with title-challenging Arsenal next Sunday, Pep Guardiola will be sweating over his fitness.
Taking to social media, the player himself said: “Frustrating to come off injured in last night’s game especially when captaining the side. A truly great honour. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious and I’m back ASAP.”
