England may lose five key players to injury ahead of their Euro 2024 opening match against Serbia on June 16, 2024.
The Three Lions are in Group C and will open their Euro 2024 campaign against Aleksander Mitrovic’s Serbia on Sunday, June 16 before squaring up against Christian Eriksen’s Denmark on June 20. They will play their final group game against Slovenia five days after the Denmark match.
Ahead of the Serbia opener, sources close to the squad have revealed about five players are likely to miss the game due to injury scares.
The Telegraph reports that Real Madrid midfield sensation Jude Bellingham is leading the list of players who are major doubt for the game.
Bellingham missed England’s friendlies against Bosnia Herzegovina and Iceland due to his involvement in the Champions League final with Real Madrid. He is said to be a major doubt for the Serbia match with details of his fitness issues undisclosed.
Manchester City attacking midfielder and 2023-24 Premier League Player of The Season Phil Foden is also set to miss the match for an undisclosed issue.
The exciting footballing talent was overshadowed in the Three Lions’ shock 1-0 loss to Iceland in their last warm-up friendly.
Also on the injury-hit list is Arsenal’s deadly right-winger Bukayo Saka. Saka was played for only 25 minutes in the Iceland match, coming on late as substitute. He is reportedly facing fitness issues and could miss the Serbia clash.
Also on the list is John Stones. The Manchester City defender had to be subbed off at half-time during the Iceland match. Manager Gareth Southgate confirmed he didn’t want to take chances with Stones, hence his decision to sub him off at half-time. It has been confirmed that Stones may tarry on the sidelines a little longer than expected and will miss the Serbia match.
The last name on the list is Manchester United’s Luke Shaw. The highly-rated right-back was included in Southgate’s 26-man final Euro 2024 squad despite his injury setback with Manchester United.
The last time Shaw played for Manchester United was in February 2024 before he went on a lengthy spell on the sideline. However, after being assessed by Southgate and his coaching staff in the European Championship training camp, the 28-year-old was included with projections he could recover fully before kickoff.
Now, it has been confirmed Luke Shaw will still be sildined and will miss the opening match against Serbia.
As things stand, Gareth Southgate will be forced to field widely-gutted starting eleven against Serbia. The 53-year-old, who is given himself a target of winning the competition, will hope to get off to a flying start against Serbia despite the injury blows.
