Sterling joins list of Man City injury concerns after missing England's Nations League game with Belgium

BetOdds Raheem Sterling England Manchester City Premier League Belgium Belgium v England UEFA Nations League

Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate did not want to risk exacerbating the winger's injury and doubts he will feature against Iceland either

Manchester City's injury problems worsened on Sunday when it was confirmed Raheem Sterling had been ruled out for England ahead of the match against Belgium.

The winger was left out of the squad as England beat Republic of Ireland 3-0 in a friendly on Thursday and was once again absent for the Nations League clash in Belgium.

England coach Gareth Southgate confirmed the 25-year-old felt some discomfort on Friday and doubts he will be included in the game against on Iceland on Wednesday.

"Raheem felt something a couple of days ago and didn't train on Friday as a precaution," the Three Lions boss said.

"He started training yesterday and wasn't really happy with it. It's not one we should take a chance on.

"He should be fine by the end of the week but I think the games for us will just come too quickly."

There's no @sterling7 in the #ThreeLions squad this evening, as the forward misses out through injury. pic.twitter.com/lnuOVNEsAO

City recently saw Nathan Ake sustain a hamstring problem in the early stages of Netherlands' 1-1 draw with Spain on Wednesday.

The centre-back was substituted just six minutes into the tie and was subsequently withdrawn from the squad, with Lille defender Sven Botman taking his place.

Pep Guardiola's side are already without Sergio Aguero, who has been limited to just three appearances this season.

The Argentina international missed his side's first three Premier League games with a knee injury and then had to be replaced in the match against West Ham last month due to a hamstring problem.

Aguero returned to training with City last week but was not fit enough to face Premier League rivals Liverpool in their recent 1-1 draw.

City have only recently welcomed Gabriel Jesus back into the team after he was kept out for several weeks with an injury.

Guardiola has been a vocal critic of the Premier League's decision to return to a maximum of three substitutes per match while other leagues in Europe have allowed teams to make five changes to help prevent injuries because of the busy fixture schedules.

"Here we believe we are more special, we don't protect the players, so that is why it is a disaster," he said last week.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has also criticised the league, blaming chief executive Richard Masters for a "lack of leadership".

2020-11-15 23:00:02

Comments

Send Your Comment

Download Application