England cruised into the quarter-finals of the World Cup against Senegal, winning 3-0 on Sunday evening. The forward line looked in impressive form, with Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane and Phil Foden starting up front. Gareth Southgate was without Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling.
As per SkySports, Sterling has returned to England in order to be there for his family. He was ruled out shortly before kick-off after he found out that his family had been victim of an armed robbery. Understandably concerned for his children and the impact on them, Sterling left for England almost immediately.
Southgate said he was not sure when he would be back with the England squad.
“I really don’t know, it’s a situation he needs time to deal with, I don’t want to put any pressure on him.”
“Sometimes football isn’t the most important thing and family should come first.”
He also remarked that it was their intention for Sterling to return, but his presence is doubtful for their quarter-final against France next Saturday.
With his mind elsewhere currently, it seems unlikely he would be a big factor against France, or at least from the start of the match. Southgate will at least be confident that he has plenty of quality with which to replace him if needs be, as their victory of Senegal demonstrated.
