Gareth Southgate confirms five England injuries in preliminary squad on eve on Euro 2024 | Football | Sport
Gareth Southgate has confirmed that five England players will be sidelined for Monday’s friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina at St James’ Park. The Three Lions will face Bosnia in their first warm-up game before Euro 2024, which is set to get underway in Germany later this month.
Speaking in Sunday’s press conference, Southgate named John Stones, Bukayo Saka, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Anthony Gordon as the five players who will be absent from Monday’s game. The England boss confirmed that Stones and Saka were not injured but will be left out of the matchday squad to allow them to rest.
He said: “John has reported a bit later so hasn’t worked with us, he will follow an individual programme. Bukayo is fine, he will be rested tomorrow and should be available by Friday.”
Maguire and Shaw are more serious concerns for England, with both players nursing injuries ahead of the Euros. Maguire missed the final five weeks of the Premier League season for Manchester United while Shaw was described as a ‘long shot’ by Southgate last month.
Gordon, meanwhile, is yet to make his return from injury after missing Newcastle‘s final game of the season with an ankle problem.
“All are progressing well,” said Southgate when quizzed on the trio. “We are pleased with the progress they’ve made. None of them will be involved tomorrow. Gordon has a chance to be available for Friday. The other two are more unlikely, let’s see how far they can go.”
Kobbie Mainoo, Phil Foden, Kyle Walker and Jude Bellingham are yet to link up with the rest of the England squad due to their various club commitments. As a result, none of them are expected to be involved in Monday’s game against Bosnia.
Southgate will name his final 26-man squad for the Euros next weekend and it remains to be seen if any of the players mentioned on Sunday will miss out through injury. Another warm-up game will take place on Friday, with England set to face Iceland at Wembley in their final match before flying out to Germany.
