Ben White has left England’s World Cup training base in Qatar due to personal reasons, with the Arsenal defender not expected to return during the tournament.
White has yet to appear in three Group B matches for the Three Lions and missed Tuesday night’s 3-0 win over Wales due to illness. He will now fly home.
It is too late for England to name a replacement for the versatile centre-back, so manager Gareth Southgate will be down to a squad of 25 players for the remainder of this World Cup, with Senegal up next in the last-16 at Al Bayt Stadium on Sunday night.
“Ben White has left England’s training base in Al Wakrah and returned home for personal reasons,” read a statement from England released on Wednesday evening.
“The Arsenal defender is not expected to return to the squad for the remainder of the tournament. We ask that the player’s privacy is respected at this moment in time.”
England aren’t thought to be carrying any injuries at present and have yet to be shown a yellow card so far in the tournament, so will hope to show that they are able to absorb the loss of White.
