Marcus Rashford has been ruled out of England’s Euro 2020 qualification double-header after failing to shake off an ankle injury, manager Gareth Southgate has said.
The Three Lions’ preparations for Friday’s Group A opener against the Czech Republic at a sold-out Wembley have been hampered somewhat by a string of injuries.
John Stones, Fabian Delph, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Luke Shaw and Trent Alexander-Arnold have dropped out of the squad this week, offset only by the additions of Callum Hudson-Odoi and James Ward-Prowse.
Southgate’s initial 25-man selection is now down to 21 players after striker Rashford returned to Manchester United on the eve of the Czech Republic clash.
The 21-year-old had an individual session indoors away from the main training group at St George’s Park on Thursday and Southgate has now confirmed that an ankle issue has seen him withdraw.
Asked about Rashford, Southgate said at a press conference: “He’s been with our medical team all week and we’ve tried to progress him but it’s clear he’s not going to be ready for our matches so we’ve sent him back.
“We knew Marcus might not be ready so it’s a good opportunity for others.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here