Jude Bellingham and Lewis Dunk have been ruled out of England’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia.
Real Madrid-bound Bellingham is still suffering with the hamstring injury that sidelined him for Borussia Dortmund’s heart-breaking season finale, when they let slip the Bundesliga title by drawing 2-2 at home to Mainz.
The 19-year-old midfielder will report to St George’s Park to receive further treatment, but will play no part in either match, a team statement confirmed.
Brighton defender Dunk has withdrawn from the squad through injury and will not travel to the national football centre – the only player from Gareth Southgate’s original 25-man squad who is not now due to join up.
England players began to gather at St George’s Park on Sunday, preparing for Friday’s trip to face Malta in Ta’ Qali and Monday’s fixture against North Macedonia at Old Trafford.
West Ham’s Declan Rice, who lifted the Europa Conference League trophy in midweek, will join in the coming days, as will the five players from Manchester City’s Champions League-winning squad.
Jack Grealish, John Stones, Phil Foden, Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips are all expected to be part of City’s bus parade in Manchester on Monday before reporting for duty.
In a video posted on England’s social media accounts on Sunday, Southgate said: “We’ve a little less training than we would have liked but today was an important session in terms of players getting back into their football movements.
“They all keep themselves in good shape but you’re not training with the team in that period and you have to adapt your body back to the rhythm…
“We’ll get the players through today so they’re ready to go tomorrow and then we start the more tactical preparation for the game with Malta.
“I think what we’ve shown in the last few months is that we’re a team who now can take on some of the best teams in the world.
“We showed that in the World Cup and we definitely showed that by winning in Naples (the 2-1 win over Italy in March), which was a really important game for us not only in terms of qualification but in terms of our confidence and setting some markers for what we are as a team.
“If you’re a really big team you nail those big games and then you don’t slip up with the teams you are expected to beat and that’s the challenge for us now.
“We’re at the end of the season, we’ve had a lot of different distractions. There’s any number of reasons or excuses if you search for them but we can’t have a team looking for excuses.
“We want to consistently perform at a high level and we have to start that from the minute the players arrive.”
Nashville SC v San Jose Earthquakes: ‘A win would change everything’ - Godoy
Anibal Godoy insists that Nashville are already looking at their game against San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday as a must-win.
Nashville have won just once in the MLS this season and sit in 14th place in the Eastern Conference after a run of four without a win.
The Earthquakes, meanwhile, are bottom of the Western Conference having lost eight of their matches and recording just one win.
Godoy is aware of how their poor start to the season could affect their playoff hopes later down the line but is confident that Nashville can turn things around.
He said: “For us, it's an important week. It's a day we have to win, or we'll start to feel the pressure from other teams as they start to separate in the table.
“This league is long but if we want to get to the playoff you have to win games early on, especially at home.”
Liverpool agree compensation deal for Slot
Liverpool and Feyenoord have reached an agreement in principle over a compensation deal for Arne Slot to become the Reds’ manager next season, according to widespread Dutch media reports.
The Dutchman is reportedly poised to take over from Jurgen Klopp, who announced in January that he would be leaving the club at the end of the campaign.
Slot led Feyenoord to their second Eredivisie title last season after taking over the club in 2021.
It is believed that he topped the list of Liverpool’s favoured candidates due to his attacking playing style and ability to develop players.
Former Liverpool midfielder, Xabi Alonso, who led Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, and Sporting CP’s Ruben Amorim were also reported contenders to take over from Klopp.
Slot had already confirmed his interest in managing in the Premier League, both earlier this week and previously when he was linked to Tottenham in 2023.
QPR 4-0 Leeds United: Shock loss for Farke's men seals Leicester's promotion
QPR thrashed Leeds United 4-0 in the Championship on Friday, ensuring Leicester City booked their promotion straight back to the Premier League.
Ilias Chair was the star for the Hoops as he scored the opener and assisted two more goals to ensure QPR will stay in the Championship for another season.
Lucas Andersen, Lyndon Dykes and Sam Field also got their names on the scoresheet in an emphatic win for Marti Cifuentes' side.
Leeds' heaviest defeat of the season was a huge blow in the race for an automatic promotion spot, with Ipswich Town just one point behind them in third place with two games in hand going into their away clash against Hull City on Saturday.
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