Raheem Sterling has issued a statement via his official Instagram account after an incident involving Liverpool’s Joe Gomez.
The Manchester City forward will miss England’s Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro at Wembley after tensions with Liverpool defender resurfaced at St George’s Park on Monday.
The pair clashed during the final moments of Liverpool’s 3-1 victory over Man City at Anfield on Sunday, and a further incident - which England boss Gareth Southgate referred to as ‘club rivalries’ has rocked the England squad ahead of Thursday’s match.
In a statement, Sterling said: “First and foremost everyone knows what that 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 got the better of me.”
“We move this is why we play this sport because of our love for it - me and @joegomez5 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.”
Sterling will remain with the England squad.
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."
That victory for Liverpool saw them move nine-points ahead of title-rivals City in the Premier League table.
