November 10, (THEWILL) – Declan Rice, West Ham midfielder, has withdrawn from England’s team for the upcoming Qatar 2022 World Cup qualification matches against Albania and San Marino.
The 22-year-old arrived to St George’s Park on Monday with the rest of the England squad, but has been unable to train since because of illness. He has therefore returned to West Ham, and Gareth Southgate is unlikely to make any more changes to his team.
As THEWILL reported, Marcus Rashford and James Ward-Prowse have both withdrawn from the squad, with Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe gaining his first senior call-up in place of Rashford.
Mason Mount and Luke Shaw, on the other hand, are yet to make Southgate’s squad. Following oral surgery and a concussion respectively, they are still being evaluated.
Rice has previously started five World Cup qualifiers for England, the most recent being a 90-minute appearance in a 1-1 draw with Hungary in October.
He has appeared in every minute of his club’s eleven Premier League games, scoring one in a 4-1 victory over Aston Villa last month.
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