Gareth Southgate faces a defensive headache for England’s opener (Picture: Getty)
John Stones has become a major doubt for England’s Euro 2024 opener against Serbia on Sunday, according to reports.
Stones missed England training on Wednesday with the Manchester City defender struggling badly with illness before the Three Lions kick-off in Germany.
There was an injury concern over the centre-back when he took a knock in the friendly with Iceland last week, but he was in training on Tuesday in Germany and all seemed well.
However, Stones has come down with illness since then and was not involved with the rest of the squad on Wednesday, causing concern ahead of the opener against Serbia on Sunday evening.
According to Sky Sports’ Rob Dorsett, Stones was confined to his bedroom and effectively quarantined, to prevent the sickness bug from spreading to the rest of Southgate’s party.
It has since emerged from The Telegraph that Stones has become a major doubt for the clash against Serbia – although the Football Association haven’t confirmed the nature of his illness – and it remains unclear if he’ll train on Thursday.
The other 25 players in the squad were training on Wednesday, with further encouraging signs for Luke Shaw, who is pushing for a return from injury.
John Stones’ potential absence would be a huge blow for England (Picture: Getty)
The Manchester United left-back has not played since February and is something of a gamble from Gareth Southgate in the squad this summer.
The former Southampton man appears to be progressing well, though, and he looks set to feature in the group stages as he nears fitness again after the muscle problem.
The severity of Stones’ illness is yet to be confirmed, but Southgate will be very keen to have him available on Sunday after Harry Maguire missed out on the squad through injury.
If Stone were not available then England would be lacking international experience at centre-back after Maguire’s injury.
Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi is expected to start in the middle of defence, with the likes of Lewis Dunk, Ezri Konsa and Joe Gomez other options to play at centre-back.
The England camp were in good spirits in training on Tuesday (Picture: Getty)
Otherwise it has been good news for England in training this week, with the likes of Bukayo Saka and Dunk seemingly fit and trouble-free after slight injury concerns.
Jude Bellingham is also back with the squad after his extended break following Real Madrid’s Champions League glory at Wembley.
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