Raheem Sterling returned to England training in Qatar on Friday morning, but is unlikely to start for the Three Lions in their World Cup quarter-final against France.
Sterling returned home to Surrey this week to be with his family after his home was broken into by burglars on Saturday evening. He missed the 3-0 win over Senegal in the last 16, but has now returned to Qatar.
The Chelsea forward trained with his teammates at their Al Wakrah base as they prepared to face the defending champions at the Al Bayt Stadium on Saturday night. Gareth Southgate has relied upon Sterling during his tenure as manager, but has hinted that he won’t be rushed back after a stressful week.
“We will have to assess that,” Southgate told ITV when asked if Sterling could feature against France. “He has missed a lot of training and had two long flights. That is not good preparation for a game of this standard but let’s see how he is.”
Sterling returned home due to concerns about the welfare of his young family following the break-in. Surrey Police released a statement on Wednesday confirming they had arrested two men in the same village as Sterling’s house, but said they were not connected to the raid of the England star’s home.
Southgate has shown great compassion in his approach to Sterling over the past five days and drew a parallel between a similar situation at the 2018 World Cup. “He has felt the need to support his family and to be there for his family and that is a simple decision for me – I have to support the player,” he said.
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“I remember Fabian Delph going home, his wife was expecting in Russia. We did the same thing. There are moments for every individual where family becomes most important. I’m always supportive of that.
“Of course I want the best players available and want to win football matches. But as a manager you have to recognise there are certain moments in people’s lives that are more important at that particular time.”
While Sterling is considered a longshot to start, there will still be fierce competition for places in attack, with Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford all vying for his spot. Southgate says England will stick to their positive approach, despite the step up in opposition.
“There is no point going into a game like this and just covering up and sitting on the ropes. We believe we can cause problems with the ball and we intend to do that,” he said.
“We’ve beaten some big teams. We know we have the experience of high pressure nights behind us and as a team we’ve been resilient through a lot of situations but they all prepare you for nights like this.
“We got to the first final for 55 years this is a quarter-final. We've won a semi-final and been to a semi-final of the World Cup before. But, of course, it is a big game against a high quality opponent. Everything that has happened in the past is history, it all comes down to Saturday night.”
