Thomas Touchel confirmed the John Stones’ withdrawal from the English team. The Manchester City defender was called to the team to face Andorra and Serbia in this month’s World Cup qualifiers.
However, on Friday morning, the England manager confirmed that the Stones had left the Three Lions camp a day before their match against Andorra at Villa Park. Tuchel said he doesn’t want to risk the 31-year-old who arrives at training camp with an unreliable “muscle problem.” Following the blow of the injury, he said: “He left camp this morning because of the camp because of the small problems (muscle problems) came and he didn’t progress as we thought it would.”
The German added: “Everyone else is available. Yesterday we had 21 players in training and 21 players in training.
The Stones, who suffered repeated injuries in the previous quarter, have started all Manchester City Premier League matches this season. He is now back in the city and his statement from the club states that stone withdrawal is a precaution.
The Stones are one of the veterans of the England team, winning 83 senior caps and representing his country in the past five major international tournaments. Marc Guehi, Dan Burn, Ezri Konsa and Jarell Quansah are Tuchel’s remaining centre-back options.
Nevertheless, despite England’s toughest qualifier against Serbia three days later, Tuchel vowed to list a strong team against Andorra. He confirmed that England’s captain Harry Kane will be featured against Andorra, claiming there will be no chance when he tries to secure World Cup qualifiers.
“It’s World Cup season. There’s three condensation periods for camps (until the end of qualifying),” Tuchel says. “As the competition continues, we’ll manage our second game, starting with the teams we trust and the best team possible in this game.”
England won all three of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Group K, beating Albania, Latvia and Andorra without acknowledging a goal.
