Raheem Sterling has left England’s World Cup squad after armed intruders broke into his house.
The Chelsea forward was not part of the Three Lions squad for Sunday’s last 16 clash with Senegal, which England won 3-0.
It’s since emerged that Sterling’s house in Surrey, near to Chelsea’s training ground, was targeted in a burglary on Saturday night.
His family were inside at the time and he is concerned for the wellbeing of his children so it was arranged for him to fly home from Qatar on Sunday.
Boss Gareth Southgate held talks with Sterling before he left the camp and has told the Chelsea star he is welcome to rejoin the squad but will not put pressure on him to do so.
“I had a long time with him this morning just trying to work out how best for him to deal with everything,” the England manager told talkSPORT after the win over Senegal, which booked a quarter-final with France for next Saturday.
“He’s going to go home tonight. The priority at this time is his family and we’ve got to give him the space to sort everything out there and then we’ll see if he’s able to come back and when.
“That wouldn’t be a problem in terms of the bubble but obviously we’ve got to give him the space and time to work out exactly what’s going to go on.”
The 27-year-old has been a key player under Southgate and has scored 20 goals in 81 caps for England.
He was named in the starting XI for the Three Lions’ group stage opener against Iran, scoring in a 6-2 victory.
He also started the 0-0 draw with USA, but was replaced by Jack Grealish after 68 minutes of the match.
Sterling was then left out of the 3-0 victory over Wales and failed to make it off the bench in their Group B finale.
The England Twitter account posted ahead of the game against Senegal: “Raheem Sterling is not available for selection for the #ThreeLions tonight as he is dealing with a family matter.”
England boss Southgate made one change against Senegal from the team that beat Wales, with Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka returning in place of Marcus Rashford.
Phil Foden kept his place and Southgate’s selection decisions paid off handsomely.
Saka scored while Foden created two in a comfortable 3-0 win which books a mouthwatering last eight showdown against France for England.
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