- John Stones missed England training on Wednesday due to illness
- The defender is ill and is a doubt for England’s clash against Serbia
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John Stones has an illness and has been confined to his room to prevent it from spreading to the England team.
Mail Sport reported on Wednesday morning that the Manchester City defender had not trained due to illness, a worrying sign for the Three Lions.
And according sky sportsStones is now a doubt for England’s Euro 2024 opener against Serbia on Sunday.
The 30-year-old, who is stuck in his room in the England camp, has 72 caps and has been a mainstay in Southgate’s starting XI.
However, he comes into the tournament after a slightly disappointing campaign with City, where he struggled for fitness and game time.
John Stones has been confined to his room after missing England training through illness.
Stones is ill and doubtful for England’s Euro 2024 opening match against Serbia
Stones started just one Premier League match in the final three months of the season and needed training and playing time to be fully fit after joining England.
Unfortunately, due to his illness, this may not be possible, so his participation against Serbia is in doubt.
Even if he manages to pull through, it is unlikely that he will be able to complete the 90 minutes due to his lack of match fitness.
Stones is one of five central defenders selected by Southgate for the tournament, but is by far the most important to the team’s success, especially after his international partner Harry Maguire was excluded from the squad due to injury.
Stones was an unused substitute in seven of City’s last 10 league games and failed to make the team in another. Despite this irregular participation at club level, he remains irreplaceable for the national team.
Stones’ possible absence is a major headache for Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate
On Wednesday, England stepped up preparations for their first match of the tournament against Serbia.
Meanwhile, the Three Lions trained for the first time in Germany on Tuesday after arriving at their base at the Weimarer Land Spa and Golf Resort outside Blankenhain.
Southgate received a double boost from Luke Shaw and Stones, who was substituted at half-time in the team’s final warm-up friendly against Iceland last week after picking up a knock in the opening exchanges.
However, Stones’ absence from Wednesday’s session gives the England manager a headache ahead of Sunday’s clash with Serbia, with either Ezri Konsa or Lewis Dunk likely to replace the City defender if he fails to attend.