KYLE WALKER and Jack Grealish will avoid being frozen out by England manager Gareth Southgate despite their lockdown antics.
Manchester City defender Walker hosted a sex party with two hookers and Aston Villa captain Grealish crashed his car after visiting friends.
Gareth Southgate has been impressed by Jack Grealish this season
⚠️ Read our coronavirus in sport live blog for the latest news & updates
Both issued apologies for defying government measures during the coronavirus crisis with Grealish fined £150,000 by Villa, while Walker is also facing a hefty financial punishment from City.
Yet while Southgate was angered by their behaviour, it is understood that he will not close the door on either player’s hopes of making next summer’s delayed Euro finals.
Walker, 29, is currently fourth in line for the England right-back role behind Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
But the City man had been in decent form for his club this season and Southgate is not willing to cut off his nose to spite his face by freezing out Walker from future plans.
Despite his colourful personal life, Walker is said to be popular with England team-mates and Southgate has always appreciated how he played out of position as one of three central defenders during the run to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals.
Walker has not been included in Southgate’s squads since last summer but the boss has always insisted he is still an England option going forward – and that has not changed because of his latest off-field scrape.
Grealish would have received his first senior England call-up for the friendlies with Italy and Denmark scheduled for late March, which were an early casualty of football’s lockdown.
Southgate had been impressed with Grealish’s progress as a player and captain at Villa this season.
The Three Lions boss was dismayed when Grealish crashed his Range Rover into three parked cars after a late-night gathering last month – just hours after he had published a video on social media urging the public to stay at home.
Give now to The Sun’s NHS appeal
BRITAIN’s four million NHS staff are on the frontline in the battle against coronavirus.
But while they are helping save lives, who is there to help them?
The Sun has launched an appeal to raise £1MILLION for NHS workers.
The Who Cares Wins Appeal aims to get vital support to staff in their hour of need.
We have teamed up with NHS Charities Together in their urgent Covid-19 Appeal to ensure the money gets to exactly who needs it.
The Sun is donating £50,000 and we would like YOU to help us raise a million pounds, to help THEM.
No matter how little you can spare, please donate today here
www.thesun.co.uk/whocareswinsappeal
Kyle Walker has made 21 Premier League appearances for City this season
While the incident clearly will not help Grealish’s England prospects, Southgate will not disregard him.
He is aware that Grealish, 24, is a summer target for Manchester United, among others, and will not rule out a player who could end up becoming a major star for a leading Premier League club next season.
England’s next scheduled fixture is a UEFA Nations League clash in Iceland on September 5 – but Southgate’s men are unlikely to play before October at the earliest due to the fixture chaos caused by coronavirus.
Gareth Southgate will not boot Jack Grealish and Kyle Walker out of his England team
CORONAVIRUS CRISIS – BE IN THE KNOW
Get the latest coronavirus news, facts and figures from around the world – plus essential advice for you and your family.
To receive our Covid-19 newsletter in your inbox every tea time, sign up here.
To follow us on Facebook, simply ‘Like’ our Coronavirus page.
Jack Grealish ‘deeply embarrassed’ after breaking coronarvirus lockdown rules before Range Rover crash
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
