BURTON, Staffordshire (AP) — John Stones has been excluded from England’s World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia due to muscle damage.
The Manchester City defender left the national team’s training camp on Friday, and manager Thomas Tuschel said he can’t take risks in future games.
The Stones have played in all three City Premier League matches this season, but Tuchel said he was injured when reporting his England mission.
“He came to camp with a small problem, a muscle problem and didn’t make the progress we thought he was going to do so, so he left camp this morning.
England will play Andorra at Villa Park on Saturday and play for Serbia in Belgrade on Tuesday.
Tushell said Captain Harry Kane would face Andorra and insisted he would not take a chance when he tried to qualify for the World Cup.
“It’s World Cup season. There’s three condensation periods for camps (until the end of qualifying),” he said. “As the competition continues, we’ll manage our second game, starting with the teams we trust and the best team possible in this game.”
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