Raheem Sterling has admitted his "emotions got the better" of him after his England bust-up with Joe Gomez.
The Manchester City forward will not be considered for England's Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro on Thursday after a row with Liverpool defender Gomez.
The pair clashed towards the end of City's 3-1 Anfield loss to Liverpool on Sunday and it's understood Sterling and Gomez were again involved in an exchange after meeting up for England duty on Monday.
Sterling, a former Liverpool player, subsequently took to social media to address the incident.
He said: "First and foremost everyone knows what this game means to me!
"Everyone knows that I am not that way inclined and more to the point, both Joe and I have had words and figured things out and moved on.
"We are in a sport where emotions run high and I am man enough to admit when emotions get the better of me.
"We move (on) this is why we play this sport because of our love for it - me and Joe Gomez are good we both understand it was a 5-10 second thing it's done we move forward and not make this bigger than it is.
"Let's get focus on our game on Thursday."
But despite Sterling's message, Gareth Southagate insists he felt compelled to remove the winger for the fixture.
England boss Southgate said: "We have taken the decision to not consider Raheem for the match against Montenegro on Thursday.
"One of the great challenges and strengths for us is that we've been able to separate club rivalries from the national team.
"Unfortunately the emotions of yesterday's game were still raw. My feeling is that the right thing for the team is the action we have taken.
"Now that the decision has been made with the agreement of the entire squad, it's important that we support the players and focus on Thursday night."
