John Stones selection not a risk, Gareth Southgate says despite Manchester City defender’s injury
Gareth Southgate has protected his decision to include John Stones in the England squad to face Belgium at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday - even though the Manchester City defender had to come off the pitch in the initial 10 minutes of the game due to an injury.
Southgate mentioned that Stones experienced an issue with his adductor, after playing the complete match in England's 1-0 loss to Brazil on Thursday.
The individual who is 29 years old may face an obstacle when it comes to their physical condition before Manchester City's imperative match against the leading team, Arsenal, on Sunday. Manchester City is currently behind Arsenal by one point with 10 matches remaining. The fellow defender for Manchester City, Kyle Walker, was also injured during the Brazil game and left the England camp due to the injury.
During the game, Stones seemed to injure his leg while passing the ball. As a result, he was attended to by the medical team from England and was substituted with Joe Gomez from Liverpool. However, Stones was observed later on sitting on the England bench.
When asked if there was a danger in starting Stones, Southgate responded with a negative answer. He explained that the first match that Stones played in wasn't a particularly challenging one, so there was no need for concern about his inclusion in the starting line-up. Southgate emphasized the fact that the team meticulously evaluates every aspect of the game, including player performance, before making any decisions.
Tonight, we followed in Holland's footsteps and played Virgil van Dijk once again, just as Norway did with Haaland and Odegaard. Ake also had another start for Holland tonight.
It appears that whenever there's an issue pertaining to that matter, the responsibility falls on us. Although it's disheartening if he's experiencing difficulties, it appears to be pertaining to his adductor region, and we'll have to wait and see.
John had not played for two weeks and this made it easier for him to join the team without being overburdened. However, I dislike sending players back to their clubs if they are not in perfect health.
Southgate stood up for his choice to include Stones in the team despite the fact that the defender was hurt (photo credit: Clive Rose/Getty Images).
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On Tuesday, England faced two setbacks as they fell behind twice in the game. Aston Villa's Youri Tielemans scored two goals in the first half, while Brentford's Ivan Toney secured his first goal for England with a penalty. However, Jude Bellingham, who plays for Real Madrid, saved the day with a last-minute goal that prevented England from losing consecutive games at home.
Stones has played an important role for England in the most recent tournaments, featuring in every single match during the 2022 World Cup and 2020 Euros.
Stones has not been able to take part in all 28 Premier League matches this season as he was hurt in the early days of the campaign. He only played in half of these games because of this. Since he got better, he has been moved from the bench to the pitch in and out of Pep Guardiola's squad. He played in City's last four Premier League games before the international break without a break. However, when City won their quarter-final match against Newcastle United on March 16, he did not get to play.
After the upcoming Arsenal game on Sunday, City will be playing against Aston Villa who are striving to qualify for the Champions League on Wednesday, April 3. They will then move on to play against Crystal Palace the following Saturday.
Guardiola's team will be playing against Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. They will play away first and then at home. The match against Luton Town is in between these two games and will take place on April 13.
The attacking plays of Stones and Rodri were instrumental in beating Man Utd's 4-2-4-0 formation.
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