Illness forces Jesse Lingard to leave England squad

By
published

Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard has pulled out of the England squad through illness.

A poor start to the season meant the 26-year-old was a contentious selection for the Three Lions’ Euro 2020 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Kosovo.

Lingard missed training on the eve of Saturday’s Group A match against Bulgaria and was conspicuous by his omission from the 23-man England squad submitted to UEFA.

The Football Association later confirmed that the attacking midfielder will play no part for Gareth Southgate’s men during this international break due to illness.

A post on the England team’s Twitter account read: “#ThreeLions midfielder @JesseLingard has returned to his club through illness. Get well soon, Jesse!”

Lingard is the second player to withdraw from England’s initial 25-man squad after Manchester United team-mate Aaron Wan-Bissaka left on Tuesday due to a back issue.

FourFourTwo Staff
FourFourTwo Staff

FourFourTwo was launched in 1994 on the back of a World Cup that England hadn’t even qualified for. It was an act of madness… but it somehow worked out. Our mission is to offer our intelligent, international audience access to the game’s biggest names, insightful analysis... and a bit of a giggle. We unashamedly love this game and we hope that our coverage reflects that.