Raheem Sterling reportedly missed England’s World Cup match against Senegal because he had to return to England after an armed intruder raid on his home.
In Sunday’s 3-0 victory over the winners of the Africa Cup of Nations, Gareth Southgate’s team was without the Chelsea forward.
It is uncertain whether Sterling will return to Qatar in time to play against France in the quarterfinals next Saturday after England officials explained it to be “a family concern” before the game.
The BBC stated that on Saturday night, a break-in took place at the London house of 27-year-old Sterling.
Manager Gareth Southgate said after England‘s victory: “Raheem is having to deal with a family situation. He’s going back to England.
“We have to give him time to try to resolve that, or be there for his family. That’s the most important thing. We are going to give him that space.
“It didn’t impact team selection. I spent a lot of time with Raheem this morning, so you have days where events happen and you have to deal with them.
“He’s on his way home. We are obviously mindful of him being allowed space and respect his privacy, so we don’t want to talk about it in too much detail.
“It’s not ideal for the group ahead of the big game, but it pales into insignificance – the individual is more important than the group in these moments.”
England’s opening goalscorer Jordan Henderson told ITV: “I hope everything’s OK with Raheem’s family at home and I hope he goes back and can sort everything out.
“Hopefully he can then come back, but I suppose he’ll have to assess when he gets there. All our thoughts and support is with him.”
England defender Eric Dier added: “We all wish him and his family well. We hope everyone’s OK.
“I just found out before the game. I don’t know more than that, just wish him all the best.”
Thoughts are with @sterling7 and his family after their awful and harrowing ordeal.
— Gary Lineker 💙💛 (@GaryLineker) December 4, 2022
Midfielder Declan Rice indicated the day had begun as any other, with Sterling in camp.
He said: “I literally saw him at breakfast this morning and then the manager said he’s had some difficulty with his family at home.
“We’ll send him a message and wait to hear more.”
Sterling’s Chelsea team-mate Kalidou Koulibaly, who captained Senegal tonight, was unaware of the reports.
He said: “Really? I didn’t know. I really didn’t know, I’m really surprised.
“I hope that his family is good. Now I will call him and see what happened, I just hope he is good and his family is good.”