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England winger Raheem Sterling.
Bust-up

Sterling dropped by England for Montenegro clash after bust-up with Gomez

The Three Lions will have to play without the Manchester City winger after Gareth Southgate decided he will not be considered for selection.

LAST UPDATE | Nov 12th 2019, 11:07 AM

Updated at 11.07

RAHEEM STERLING WILL not be considered for England’s Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro following an incident at England’s St George’s Park training base.

The Manchester City winger will miss out on the upcoming match as a result of a “disturbance in a private team area at St. George’s Park ” that occurred on Monday, the FA said in a statement.

The incident is reported to have involved Joe Gomez, having been sparked after a back-and-forth about Liverpool’s 3-1 Premier League win over City at Anfield went too far.

The two clashed after Gomez was introduced into the top-of-the-table clash in the 87th minute, with the Manchester City winger and Liverpool defender taking part in a heated exchange before being separated by James Milner.

Now, Sterling will miss out on a Euro 2020 qualifier in the aftermath of Sunday’s fixture that left Liverpool eight points clear at the top. However, Sterling is set to remain with the squad and could play in England’s upcoming match against Kosovo.

Manager Gareth 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.”

In a post on Instagram, Sterling said it was time to move on, but admitted he had let his emotions get the better of him during the incident.

“First and foremost everyone knows what that game means to me!” he wrote on his official Instagram account.

“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 [sic] 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 [sic] on our game on Thursday.”

The Manchester City star has emerged as one of England’s most vital players under Southgate, who has hailed Sterling’s leadership ability within the squad.

Sterling has earned 55 caps for England, having scored 12 goals as a senior international.

Gomez, meanwhile, earned his first senior cap in 2017 and has gone on to represent England on seven occasions.

England face Montenegro on Thursday at Wembley knowing that a win will book their place at Euro 2020 before flying to Pristina to face off with Kosovo on Sunday.

Liverpool are set to face Crystal Palace following the conclusion of the international break. Manchester City, meanwhile, are set to face Chelsea when Premier League play resumes.

Originally published at 08.45

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