England boss Gareth Southgate has suffered two major injury blows on the eve of the international break ahead of a Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine and a friendly with Scotland
Jack Grealish and Trent Alexander-Arnold have both withdrawn from the England squad for the upcoming international break.
An FA statement read: “Jack Grealish and Trent Alexander-Arnold have been ruled out of England’s September fixtures. The pair reported to St. George’s Park on Monday but have since withdrawn from the Three Lions squad following checks on injuries sustained prior to camp.
“All other players are due as planned apart from Kieran Trippier who will arrive on Wednesday owing to a personal commitment. There are no further call ups planned as Gareth Southgate’s squad prepare for Saturday’s UEFA EURO 2024 against Ukraine in Wroclaw and Tuesday’s 150th Anniversary Heritage Match with Scotland in Glasgow.”
Grealish was injured during Manchester City’s win over Sheffield United last week, with stand-in boss Juanma Lillo revealing this weekend that the winger would be forced to miss England’s clashes against Ukraine and Scotland. Lillo admitted that the City star was facing a number of weeks on the sidelines.
Lillo, who has stood in for the injured Pep Guardiola to take charge of City’s last two games, said: “It’s going to be difficult for Jack to make it for the national team call up. But I’m not a doctor and it would be difficult for me to explain.
Meanwhile, Alexander-Arnold limped out of Liverpool’s 3-0 thrashing of Aston Villa after 77 minutes on Sunday. Reds boss Jurgen Klopp confirmed afterwards that the right-back would undergo a scan to determine the extent of his injury.
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“I don’t know exactly. I asked him, he said it’s [his] hamstring. ‘Not too serious’ is his opinion, but we obviously have to wait for the scans and then we will know more,” Klopp said after the win over Villa.
Southgate’s decision to not call up any replacements for either of the injured duo will be a blow to Raheem Sterling. The Chelsea star missed out on selection in the original squad, with Southgate revealing he faced a battle to retake his place.
“The basis of this squad is that we left Old Trafford [v North Macedonia] after two really good performances, and four good performances in the group, so I didn’t really want to move from the squad we had that day and we’re only three games into the start of the season,” he said.
“We were really pleased with the group [from June] and to bring Raheem back in, we’d have to leave someone else out and on the back of three games, I didn’t think anyone in this attacking group of players warrants being left out.
“It’s really good to see Raheem start the season so well, he looks in good condition, he looks hungry and he’s obviously an important player for us and has been an important player for us.
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“But in those attacking areas, just behind the nine, we have a lot of competition for places and I think all of those players have started the season well and the group that are with us have done really well in recent games.
“It’s a difficult call and Raheem’s not particularly happy about it, but I understand that because he’s an important player for us and I’m convinced he’s going to have an excellent season with Chelsea, I have no doubt about that.”
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