Norway defender Julian Ryerson has left the national team early and will miss Sunday’s match against Portugal after aggravating a rib injury.
Norway coach Stale Solbakken confirmed Ryerson’s withdrawal at a press conference on Friday, two days after the player was forced off early in the match against Wales.
Solbakken said Ryerson had trained without difficulty the day before the Wales game, but suffered a further blow in the opening challenges of the match.
“He was tested in training yesterday and had no problems then, but in the first few challenges of the match, he took a hit or something similar, which caused the pain to become unbearable,” Solbakken said.
Ryerson had already been experiencing pain in his ribs before facing Wales. He had also been substituted early during an earlier match against Portugal.
Asked whether it had been a risk to select him against Wales, Solbakken said the defender had completed and passed the necessary examinations.
“You could say that, but he underwent and passed all the tests,” he said. “For a rib injury, after those situations occurred, we examined him, and he was cleared to play.”
Ryerson is not the only player who will depart the Norway squad before the Portugal fixture. Centre-back Torbjørn Heggem will also leave early after being sent off against Wales.
Heggem’s red card means he is suspended for Sunday’s meeting with Portugal, leaving Solbakken needing to make changes to his defence.
Norway will not call up replacements for either player. Solbakken said the squad had been selected with sufficient cover in central defence and at right-back.
“That’s why we always bring five centre-backs; we have enough personnel at the centre-back position,” he said. “Ryerson has gone home, and we still have three right-backs, so there’s absolutely no reason to call up more players.”
Solbakken added that Norway had deliberately included two additional players in the squad to avoid having to make emergency selections if injuries or suspensions occurred.
“That’s also why we called up two extra players, so we don’t have to make emergency call-ups,” he said.