Former England star Gary Lineker has sent a message of support to Raheem Sterling after an armed robbery on the Chelsea forward's home.
Sterling, who featured for England in the group stage and scored in the win over Iran, has flown back to the United Kingdom from Qatar after his home was robbed with his children inside at the time. A decision has not been made as to whether he will return to the England camp for the remainder of their World Cup campaign, which continues with a quarter-final against France on December 10.
Manager Gareth Southgate confirmed "we will have to wait and see" as the situation develops. In the meantime, Lineker has led the group of players past and present showing their support.
"Thoughts are with @sterling7 and his family after their awful and harrowing ordeal," Lineker wrote on Twitter. The presenter had earlier praised England's players as they beat Senegal shortly after learning Sterling wouldn't be involved, particularly the "unbelievable" Jude Bellingham, who he described as "the leader in this team".
Jordan Henderson opened the scoring for England when he turned in Bellingham's cross, with Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka also on target against a Senegal side who caused problems at 0-0 but faded badly in the second half. Henderson, who played with Sterling when the pair were together at Liverpool under Brendan Rodgers, also sent a message of support.
"I hope everything's okay with Raheem's family at home," the former Sunderland midfielder said. "I hope he goes back and he can sort everything out, and hopefully he can come back, but all our thoughts and support is with him."
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With Sterling unavailable, Southgate started Saka and Phil Foden out wide against Senegal. Both players made big contributions, with Saka scoring and Foden leaving the field with two assists to his name.
World champions France will pose a threat whether or not England are able to call upon Sterling. Les Bleus have scored nine goals in their four games - only England have scored more - and Paris Saint-Germain forward Mbappe hit his second brace of the tournament against Poland.
"At the moment, clearly the priority is for him to be with his family and we’re going to support that," Southgate said of Sterling. "We’re going to allow him to have as much time as he needs.
"He’s going home, yeah. I really don’t know (whether he will return) because at the moment, it’s a situation that he needs time with his family to deal with and I don’t want to put him under any pressure. Sometimes football isn’t the most important thing and family should come first."
