MANCHESTER: England have been dealt another major injury blow with Manchester City duo Raheem Sterling and Fabian Delph ruled out of the forthcoming World Cup warm-up matches.
City winger Sterling is out with a back complaint and Delph – looking for his first England cap since November 2015 – injured his calf towards the end of Sunday’s 3-1 win against Arsenal. Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson will also miss the games against Germany and Brazil at Wembley through injury.
Henderson had been due to arrive at St George’s Park later in the week after missing Liverpool’s 4-1 win against West Ham with a thigh problem. The news comes only a day after Tottenham’s Harry Winks and Harry Kane pulled out of Gareth Southgate’s squad.
Winks suffered an ankle injury during Spurs’ 1-0 win over Crystal Palace, while Kane is reportedly still recovering from a hamstring issue which saw him miss his side’s defeat to Manchester United. England are also without Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli after he sat out game at Wembley.
Southgate called up West Brom’s Jake Livermore for cover in the midfield, but the England boss will now be faced with more decisions following the latest withdrawals. The FA has announced that a further squad update will be issued in due course.
Meanwhile, Chelsea defender Gary Cahill has reported for duty at St. George’s Park having been assessed by his club’s medical staff.