JOHN STONES has been confined to his room after missing England training due to illness just days before the Three Lions’ Euro 2024 opener against Serbia.
Gareth Southgate was left with a selection headache after being forced to drop Harry Maguire from his squad through injury.
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John Stones missed England training due to illness and was confined to his roomCredit: PA
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Stones’ absence could cause a major selection headache for Gareth Southgate Credit: Getty
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But he could now be forced into another selection change if Stones does not recover from illness before Sunday’s game.
Sky Sports claim the Man City ace is suffering from a bug.
And he was locked in his room to prevent the disease from spreading to his teammates.
It is doubtful that Stones will play against Serbia.
And even if he is withdrawn, he is unlikely to play the full 90 minutes.
Stones was able to train with his 25 teammates on Tuesday, which was England’s first training session after arriving at their camp in Germany.
Stones left the Three Lions’ final warm-up game against Iceland with an injury and left Southgate sweating.
But while he appears to have avoided aggravating the blow, the Manchester City defender is now down with the illness.
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He too missed training on Wednesday as the remaining 25 players were preparing for the game against Serbia.
Stones (30) played 72 times for England and scored three goals.
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If Stones is deemed not fit enough to play on Sunday night, Southgate, 53, has a number of alternatives at his disposal.
Marc Guehi is set to feature in Maguire’s absence, while three natural centre-backs in Lewis Dunk, Ezra Konsa and Joe Gomez are also selected.
However, these options are not without problems.
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Brighton star Dunk often appeared to struggle with the weight of the Three Lions shirt on his back, leading to some critical errors in his displays.
Konsa has impressed at Aston Villa this season, but Southgate has preferred to use him at right-back, while Gomez has mainly played at full-back for Liverpool throughout the season.
Declan Rice is another option at centre-back for Southgate, although Rice is most at home in central midfield.
A third option could see Southgate revert to a three-man defence, with Kyle Walker operating as a right-sided centre-back alongside Guehi and another.
Reports earlier this week suggested Trent Alexander-Arnold was set to start in midfield, but Southgate could now change his system if his No.1 defender is out.
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