Shrewsbury Town to be without Arkell Jude-Boyd after international call-up

Shrewsbury Town will be without Arkell Jude-Boyd for a period of time after the wing-back received an international call-up.

Jude-Boyd starts for Town against Tranmere Rovers in their opening EFL Trophy fixture at Prenton Park.

But boss Gavin Cowan confirmed before kick-off that the game will be his final appearance for Salop for the time being, with the 23-year-old set to join up with the Saint Lucia squad.

Jude-Boyd will travel on Wednesday ahead of Saint Lucia’s Concacaf Nations League games against Barbados and Bermuda.

“This will be his final appearance for us until he comes back from international duty,” Cowan said.

“We are really pleased to have him. He travels tomorrow.”

Jude-Boyd becomes the second Town player to be called up for international duty, with Kian McMahon-Brown joining the Republic of Ireland Under-21s squad this week.

Saint Lucia face Barbados on Friday before taking on Bermuda on Monday.

Jude-Boyd has won several caps for Saint Lucia after making his international debut against Curacao in the 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League, scoring the opening goal in a 2-1 victory.

He had previously been named in Saint Lucia’s 23-man squad for the 2023/24 Nations League but was unable to feature because of documentation issues.

The right-sided defender joined Salop this summer after leaving Cheltenham Town and returns to the starting XI against Tranmere after featuring on the bench in Town’s last two league games.