Gareth Southgate insisted England did not take a risk with John Stones’ fitness, after the Manchester City limped off in the draw with Belgium with an adductor injury.
Having played the full 90 minutes for his country against Brazil on Saturday, Stones was again named in the starting lineup on Tuesday night, partnering Lewis Dunk at the back.
However, the City star was forced off inside ten minutes, signalling to the bench after awkwardly stretching in the early stages, and he was replaced by Joe Gomez.
It is the second injury blow City have suffered in recent days, with Kyle Walker picking up an issue in England’s defeat to Brazil and subsequently returning to the club ahead of this weekend’s crucial Premier League title showdown with Arsenal.
Speaking after the 2-2 draw with Belgium, Southgate hit back when quizzed on his decision to start Stones, pointing to other Premier League stars across Europe who have featured for their countries.
The England boss responded: “No [it wasn’t a risk to play him]. The first game [against Brazil] for him wasn’t a game that was a high level in terms of intensity.
“We’ve done exactly what Holland did with Virgil van Dijk tonight, what Norway did with Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard, starting both games. Holland also started Nathan Ake again. It only ever seems to fall on us when there’s a question about that.
“But of course, we’re disappointed if he’s got a problem. It’s in the adductor area. He came in on the back of not having played for two weeks so it wasn’t an overload issue. But I hate sending players back to their clubs if they’re not fully fit.”
Jude Bellingham’s last-gasp strike ensured England did not fall to back-to-back defeats, but it has still been a frustrating international break for Southgate.
Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane were ruled out of England duty ahead of the Brazil match, while Walker and Harry Maguire picked up injuries in that defeat to make them unavailable to face Belgium.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luke Shaw and Jack Grealish are among those already on the sidelines, and it has left Southgate pondering a number of questions, with no more fixtures before he names his preliminary squad for Euro 2024.
“We’ve got so many players missing at the moment and we’ve still got the heat of the season to come,” Southgate said.
“We’re not going to know what we’re left with until right at the very end and we’ll have to make the best decisions.”
