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John Stones has decided to withdraw himself from the England squad for their upcoming two World Cup qualifier matches against Andorra and Serbia in the ongoing international window. The 31-year-old, who is one of the key defenders in head coach Thomas Tuchel’s side, arrived at their training camp with an issue in his muscle which didn’t improve, which is why they didn’t take a risk with him.
Notably, John Stones started for his club Manchester City in the heart of defense during their first three matches of the Premier League campaign, out of which they won only one and two ended in defeat last month. Apart from the fitness issue of John Stones, the rest of the players in the squad are available for selection for the World Cup qualifier on Saturday, September 6, against Andorra at Villa Park.
England will travel to Belgrade to play against Serbia after taking on Andorra at home
In his statement to the press, Thomas Tuchel gave the details surrounding the fitness of John Stones, which read, as per BBC Sport, “He (John Stones) came with minor issues and didn't progress as we thought and hoped he would, so he left camp this morning.” He also said, “Everyone else is available. We had 21 players yesterday in training and 21 players today in training and hopefully make sure everyone is available for tomorrow.”
While John Stones won’t be available to England for their clash against Andorra this weekend, the centre-back options for the manager are namely Dan Burn, Ezri Konsa, Marc Guehi, and Jarell Quansah. After playing at Villa Park on Saturday, the England football team will travel to play against Serbia in their next World Cup qualifier at the Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade.
