JOHN STONES has MISSED England training through illness just days before the Three Lions’ Euro 2024 opening game against Serbia.
Gareth Southgate has been left with a selection headache after he was forced to axe Harry Maguire from his squad through injury.
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But he may now be forced into another selection change if Stones does not recover from his illness before Sunday’s game.
All 26 players from Southgate’s squad were able to train on Tuesday, which was their first session after arriving at their camp in Germany.
Stones went off of the Three Lions final warm-up game against Iceland with an injury.
And while he appears to have avoided aggravating the knock, the Manchester City defender has now fallen foul of illness.
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The remaining 25 players present in Germany all trained with no issue as preparation for the match against Serbia continues.
Stones, 30, has played 72 times for England, scoring three goals.
If Stones is deemed not well enough to play on Sunday evening, Southgate, 53, has a number of alternatives at his disposal.
Marc Guehi is set to feature in the absence of Maguire, while three natural centre-backs in Lewis Dunk, Ezri Konsa and Joe Gomez were selected as well.
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However, these options are not without their problems.
Brighton star Dunk has often seemed to struggle with the weight of the Three Lions shirt on his back, leading to some critical errors in his displays.
Konsa impressed at Aston Villa this season, but Southgate has preferred to use him as a right-back, while Gomez mainly played as a full-back for Liverpool throughout the season.
Declan Rice is another centre-back option for Southgate, though Rice is most at home in centre-midfield.
A third option could prompt Southgate to return to a three-man defence, with Kyle Walker operating as a right-sided centre-back alongside Guehi and one other.
Reports earlier this week suggested Trent Alexander-Arnold was set to start in midfield, but Southgate may now see fit to change his system if his No1 defender is out.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
