Jadon Sancho is set to become the latest injury casualty for England’s World Cup qualifiers.
Sancho, 20, is expected to be out until April because of a thigh muscle injury - and there are even fears the lay-off could be longer and threaten him playing again this season.
Borussia Dortmund star Sancho was expected to be in England’s squad for the treble header with San Marino, Albania and Poland later this month.
But Sancho’s injury is worse than first feared and that is a major blow as, despite a poor start to the campaign, the winger has been in excellent form in recent weeks.
As reported in Mirror Sport last week, Sancho, team mate Jude Bellingham and Tottenham ’s England under-21 star Ryan Sessegnon - on-loan at Hoffenheim - had been cleared to report up for England duty despite the new coronavirus protocols.
But now Sancho will not be part of the squad and that comes on top of an already huge list of injuries which includes Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, Leicester winger Harvey Barnes and Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish.
The injury list will be a huge worry for England boss Gareth Southgate who names his squad on Thursday, March 18, but is already fearing a raft of injuries and furthermore concerns about clubs trying to pull their players out.
FIFA have already confirmed that the two rounds of World Cup qualifiers in South America scheduled in March will not go ahead which is a major relief for the likes of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.
Several Premier League bosses, including Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp, had said that they would block players reporting up amid concerns over quarantines and health.
But UEFA are adamant that the qualifiers will go ahead but England know they will face pressure from the clubs over players already exhausted from the gruelling Premier League fixture list.
