Lucas Bergvall has been ruled out of Sweden's international friendly against Luxembourg on Saturday through illness. The Tottenham player was absent from training on Wednesday due to cold symptoms and he unfortunately is not in a position to start for Sweden's senior side for the very first time.
After becoming a key part of Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham XI, the teenager's fine form was set to be rewarded with a starting berth by national team boss Jon Dahl Tomasson after coming off the bench in his previous four international appearances. However, illness means his full debut is on hold for now.
Bergvall, providing he recovers in time, may not have too long to wait to start for Sweden, though, as they are due to host Northern Ireland at Strawberry Arena in Stockholm on Tuesday evening. The midfielder and his Sweden teammates have been training in Marbella this week ahead of their friendly but the youngster will not be travelling to Luxembourg with the rest of his colleagues.
Instead, he will return to Stockholm to recover prior to the Northern Ireland game. Bergvall has been replaced by Melker Widell in the squad for Saturday's friendly.
Jonas Werner, Sweden's national team doctor, provided an update on Bergvall's status in a statement on Sweden's official website. He said: "Lucas is not available to play on Saturday. He will go to Sweden to recover, and we will monitor developments. He may be able to rejoin the team before the match against Northern Ireland."
Earlier in the week, Bergvall had spoken to the media and discussed his upcoming first start for Sweden. "It's fun but it's not something I've thought about that much," he confessed.
"Jon and I have talked a little bit but nothing more specific, we'll do it during the days here I think. I'll just play like I did at Tottenham and be able to contribute as much as possible."
If he isn't to feature against Northern Ireland in midweek, Bergvall's next opportunity to start for his country would be against Hungary at the beginning of June.
Postecoglou falls into a trap, Pochettino's vow and the Bissouma problem - click here to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham