Mason Mount is out of England’s World Cup qualifier against Albania after having his wisdom teeth removed.
The Chelsea midfielder has been suffering flu-like symptoms in recent weeks, which saw him miss games against Newcastle and Malmo.
Club medics determined it was down to an infection in his wisdom teeth and held him back from England duty to undergo dental surgery during the international break.
Mount had the procedure yesterday, which has ruled him out of Friday’s game at Wembley and could also see him withdrawn from Monday’s trip to San Marino in England’s final qualifier.
A decision is still to be made on his participation, along with that of Luke Shaw, who did not join up with Gareth Southgate’s squad at the start of the week as he follows concussion protocols at Manchester United.
Mount posted a video to social media following his surgery, which showed swelling to his face.
He was still feeling the effects of the anesthetic and said: “If I got punched now I wouldn’t even feel it. I ain’t got no teeth.”
The issue with his teeth caused Mount to lose weight in recent weeks as he struggled to eat, as well as feeling ill, which prompted Chelsea’s medical staff to check if he had contracted coronavirus.
While he returned to training at the back end of last week, he was only able to play limited minutes as a substitute in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Burnley.
Thomas Tuchel was eager to resolve the issue before his side embark on a busy schedule over Christmas and the New Year.
“We are proud when he is selected (for England),” said the Chelsea manager last week. “He is proud when he is selected so there are no tactics behind the backs or behind closed doors that we try to manage and everyone is trying to keep Mason here. But we have full responsibility for his health and there is something going on which we need to take care about.”
