Rahim Sterling misses England’s clash with Belgium with ‘minor’ injury

Rahim Sterling suffered a “minor” injury before Belgium’s England League game on Thursday, with Gareth Southgate saying he hoped the next job would be “fit by the end of the week”.

The news was shared with the Southgate before the game on the England team’s official Twitter account. Sky Sports That Sterling had a “small swallow” shortly after.

Speaking ahead of the kick-off, he said: “Rahim felt something a few days ago and did not train on Friday as a precaution.

“She started training yesterday and she wasn’t really happy with it. We’ve discussed it and it’s not going to take a chance.

“I think it will be fine by the end of the week, but for us the games came very quickly.

“It was a bit of a heavy pitch when we trained on Friday and it’s really a small swallow. He got a good rest earlier in the week – a bit of an unfortunate incident but it won’t keep him out for long.”

With Southgate predicting that Sterling will “recover by the end of the week”, making his involvement in England’s final Nations League game against Iceland on Wednesday – alive on Sky Sports – is questionable.

Manchester City will be hopeful that Sterling will recover in time for their clash with Tottenham on Saturday – also alive on Sky Sports – as they bid to create a five-point gap between them and Jose Mourinho in the Premier League.

Wednesday, November 18 at 7:00 p.m.

Kicking at 7:45 p.m.

England v Iceland Wembley will advance

England will be allowed to play their Nations League match against Iceland at Wembley on Wednesday.

The National Stadium will host England’s final Group A 2 game, after which the UK government granted the Icelandic team “elite athlete exemption” to complete the fix.

Entry into the country from Denmark – where Iceland plays on Sunday – is currently banned for non-British residents on a new strain of coronavirus, thought to have originated on a mink farm.

The FAA on behalf of Iceland advocated for the government to “select player exemption”, which would allow them to enter the UK under strict rules.

The FAA said in a statement: “We are confident that after discussions with the relevant authorities, the UEFA Nations League fixtures against Iceland will move to Wembley Stadium next Wednesday.”