We would never wish illness on anybody. But a little tickle of a cough that’s enough to rule you out of international duty but not enough to keep you out of a Premier League team in a week’s time? Well, we can’t say we’re too unhappy about the news that Malo Gusto is going to miss both of the France U23 matches in this international break, and has returned home after feeling ill, L’Equipe are reporting.
We’re not sure how bad it is of course, perhaps he’s really sick and will be a doubt for next weekend.
But we’ve got a suspicion that this is a classic case of international break-itis, and he will be ready for training next week in time to be ready for the Burnley game.
Given Reece James is injured, Gusto is one of the players we most need to protect from playing too much, and he might just be the player we’re most pleased to hear is getting a rest.