Wales officially confirm Manchester United goalkeeper withdrawal from squad

Manchester United’s goalkeeping department has continued to evolve, with Senne Lammens establishing himself as first choice following his summer move last season from Royal Antwerp.

Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir both left on loan before the campaign began, leaving Carrick to build fresh depth behind his new No.1.

Karl Darlow arrived as a free agent from Leeds over the summer, and finally made his long-awaited United debut in last week’s Carabao Cup tie against Brighton, though it proved a night to forget.

United raced into a 2-0 lead inside ten minutes, only for Darlow to be caught hesitating off his line for Charalampos Kostoulas’ goal just before half-time, a moment widely identified as the turning point in United’s eventual 3-2 collapse.

He was then named among the substitutes for Sunday’s 1-1 Premier League draw with Fulham, adding another matchday involvement to his early spell at Old Trafford.

Manchester United goalkeeper pulls out of Wales squad

Wales have now suffered a triple blow before their Nations League A campaign, with Harry Wilson, Nathan Broadhead and Karl Darlow himself all pulling out of Craig Bellamy’s squad.

Darlow was initially called up to the squad by Bellamy.

Darlow’s withdrawal comes despite his recent involvement for United, with Wales instead calling up uncapped Leicester goalkeeper David Cornell as cover.

Huddersfield forward Joe Taylor, also uncapped, and Reading midfielder Charlie Savage have been added as further replacements for Wilson and Broadhead.

Bellamy’s side face Portugal in their Nations League opener in Lisbon on Thursday, before travelling to Copenhagen to meet Denmark the following Sunday.

Wales then host Norway in Cardiff on 1 October, before Denmark visit the Welsh capital three days later to close out the international window.

Darlow joined United on a free transfer in July after establishing himself as Leeds’ first-choice goalkeeper during their 2025/26 promotion campaign.

Before that, he spent time at Nottingham Forest, where he came through the academy, and Newcastle United, where he made exactly 100 appearances, 52 of them in the Premier League, across eight years on Tyneside.

His arrival at Old Trafford added further experience to a goalkeeping department that has changed considerably over the past year, even if his United debut did little to settle nerves among supporters.

With Wales now down to a Cornell and Taylor pairing for their opening fixtures, Bellamy will be hoping the disruption doesn’t derail what promises to be a demanding start to the Nations League campaign.