Phil Foden will miss England’s match against Ukraine on Sunday due to emergency surgery.
The Manchester City midfielder came off the bench for Southgate’s side in England’s 2-1 win over Italy in Naples on Thursday, but he was subbed off just 12 minutes later, after Luke Shaw was sent off in the 80th minute.
The Stockport-born playmaker will now be sidelined for an extended period of time after it was revealed that he was forced to undergo surgery.
In a statement issued by the England National Team, a spokesperson said: “Phil Foden has been ruled out of this evening’s UEFA EURO 2024 qualifier with Ukraine following surgery to remove his appendix this morning.
“England manager Gareth Southgate has not called up a replacement, meaning he has 20 players to choose from after the earlier withdrawal of Reece James and Luke Shaw’s suspension.”
It means Foden will miss next weekend’s crunch showdown with Liverpool in the Premier League – along with both legs of City’s Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich. Foden also faces a race against time to be available for City’s FA Cup semi-final with Sheffield United on April 23.
Foden was rushed into hospital in London this morning to undergo surgery after complaining of acute stomach pain. Foden will return to Manchester to continue his recovery, but fears he will be sidelined for around four weeks.
A City statement said: “Phil will now return to Manchester to begin rehabilitation. He will not be fit for this weekend’s Premier League game at home to Liverpool and it is unclear at this stage how long he will be unavailable for.”
Following the win over Italy it was announced that Reece James had also withdrawn from the squad due to a hamstring issue. England posted in a short statement: “Defender Reece James has withdrawn from the #ThreeLions squad and will not feature against Ukraine on Sunday.”
James played for 15 minutes of normal time during England’s win on Thursday, with Southgate opting not to call up a late replacement. England take on Ukraine on Sunday looking to extend their fine start to Euro 2024 qualifying.
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