Raheem Sterling was left out of England’s squad for their Round of 16 game against Senegal. He was unavailable due to family issues, which required him to travel back home.
It has now been revealed that the Chelsea player’s house was raided by armed invaders while his partner and children were in the house. His desire to get home and be with the family has been supported by Gareth Southgate and his teammates, and he will decide whether or not to return to the squad in the foreseeable future.
Raheem Sterling back in England with his family amidst armed burglary
The incident took place on Saturday, which caused the player to request a leave from his commitment to the team.
“Raheem Sterling is flying back to England. He needs time with his family to deal with it and I don’t want to put him under any pressure to deal with it,” Gareth Southgate said in a press conference.
“Will Sterling return? I don’t know. The priority for him at the moment is to be with his family”.
England were able to advance to the quarter finals of the World Cup with a 3-0 win over Senegal. They have several in-form replacements for Sterling in Phil Foden, Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka. So, it shouldn’t be too difficult for Southgate to cope with the Chelsea man’s absence.