Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai has delivered an injury update ahead of Euro 2024 after the midfielder was forced off in Hungary's 3-0 friendly win over Israel on Saturday.
Four days after playing the full 90 minutes in a 2-1 friendly loss away against Republic of Ireland, Szoboszlai was handed his 42nd international cap and the captain's armband as Hungary walked out at the Nagyerdei Stadion in Debrecen against Israel.
The Magyars raced into a three-goal lead inside the first 22 minutes thanks to an 11th-minute opener from Roland Sallai and a brace from Barnabas Varga, and they eventually cruised to a comfortable victory, concluding their Euro 2024 preparations in encouraging fashion.
However, Hungary's win in their final warm-up match was somewhat marred by the loss of Szoboszlai, who was forced off just before the hour mark with a hamstring issue after receiving on-pitch treatment.
Szoboszlai, an integral first-team figure for manager Marco Rossi, has since issued an update on his fitness less than a week before Euro 2024 gets underway.
© Reuters
Szoboszlai allays injury fears ahead of Euro 2024
Speaking to Hungarian reporters after the match, as quoted by the national team's official account on 'X': Szoboszlai said: "My legs were a bit stiff, I didn't want to take any risks, that's why I came down.
"We started well, the beginning of the second half was weaker, but at the end we were able to keep the ball stable again.
"Overall, we prepared well, we are looking forward to the European Championship, but the most important thing is that everyone is healthy."
Szoboszlai, who missed Euro 2020 due to injury, is determined to avoid picking up another serious problem as he looks forward to representing his country as captain at his first major tournament this summer.
The attacking midfielder contributed with four goals and four assists in eight qualification matches for Hungary, and he also enjoyed a successful debut season at Liverpool in 2023-24 following his £60m move form RB Leipzig last summer, chipping in with seven goals and four assists in 45 games.
Szoboszlai was not the only injury concern for the Hungarians following the win over Israel, as Sunderland's Callum Styles was taken off with a minor issue just before half time, but the substitution was merely a precautionary one by manager Rossi.
© Reuters
Rossi 'satisfied' with Hungary's Euro 2024 preparations
The Hungary boss was pleased with his side's overall performance on Saturday, although he acknowledged that they lost a bit of rhythm as soon as key attacking duo Szoboszlai and Sallai were withdrawn in the second half.
"We started the match really well today; we were motivated and we played in an extremely inspiring environment," Rossi told reporters after the match. "The first half went very well and everything came together in attack, but in the second half, after the substitutions, our routines were more difficult to execute.
"It's difficult to replace Salla and Szoboszlai, and this is partly why the quality of our game dropped. Even then, we had some good attacking moves, but in many respects we still have to make progress before our first match of the European Championship.
"Overall, we can be satisfied with this game and now the most important thing is to regenerate properly over the next two days and for the players with minor injuries to recover for the next stage of preparations in Germany."
Hungary have been drawn in Group A at Euro 2024 and will face Switzerland in their opening fixture at the RheinEnergieStadion in Koln on June 15, before taking on hosts Germany on June 19 and then Scotland on June 23.
Oliver Thomas
