Gareth Southgate has revealed he phoned Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp on Wednesday night after Joe Gomez’s “tragic” injury blow.
Gomez is facing a significant spell on the sidelines after undergoing surgery on a tendon in his left knee on Thursday morning.
The 23-year-old suffered the problem during a training session with England on Wednesday while preparing for their friendly against the Republic of Ireland.
The injury promoted further debate ahead of England's friendly against Ireland on Thursday evening, over an intense schedule this season as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, with an extra match having been squeezed into the last two international breaks.
Klopp has been a consistent critic of the workload placed on players with a number of his Liverpool squad having been struck down by injury this campaign.
And England boss Southgate has confirmed he discussed the matter with his Anfield counterpart.
Speaking to ITV, the three lions boss says he is keen to ensure he is able to give England players rest time during the international breaks.
“I had a chat with Jurgen Klopp last night,” said Southgate on Thursday evening.
“We're always for player welfare and to lose a player in the way that we did yesterday, it was really tragic for the boy.
Yet Southgate shot down suggestions that Gomez's injury was through any fault of his staff.
Instead, the England boss said the knee injury was due to the amount of games Gomez has had to play and could have happened even if he was training with Liverpool.
He said: “Unfortunately the injury was so unique in how it happened that we know it was just a consequence of the number of games, really.
“Wherever he had been, there’s a chance that would’ve happened. We’re on the same page, we think the welfare of the players is critical.”
