England coach Thomas Tuchel says the team would “have to adapt” without the 31-year-old
England will be without John Stones for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers after the Manchester City defender withdrew from the squad with a muscle problem.
The 31-year-old had arrived at St George’s Park carrying a minor issue but failed to recover in time. Manager Thomas Tuchel confirmed on Friday that Stones had left camp and would not be involved against Andorra at Villa Park on Saturday or Serbia in Belgrade on Tuesday.
“Unfortunately John came with minor muscle issues to the camp and did not progress as we thought and hoped he would so he left this morning,” said Tuchel.
“We will not take the risk with him, not against Andorra or Serbia.”
Stones has not played for England since October last year, missing much of the international calendar due to injury. The latest setback comes as a blow to both the defender and Tuchel, who has called himself “a big fan of John”.
However, the England coach said the team would “have to adapt” without the 31-year-old.
“We have to find solutions,” said Tuchel. We will have a strong team tomorrow, and we will come up with solutions without John.
England’s other centre-back options are Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi, Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa, Newcastle’s Dan Burn, and former Liverpool defender Jarell Quansah, who switched to Bayer Leverkusen this summer.
“We have a condensed camp, which means we will start with the team we trust and the best team possible, and then, we will manage the second game,” said Tuchel.
“We will not do it backwards. We will not get caught up in experiments. Everything that counts is today and tomorrow.”
