Raheem Sterling missed England’s World Cup Round of 16 win over Senegal after his London home was raided by armed intruders.
The Chelsea striker was not part of the Three Lions squad for Sunday’s game, with boss Gareth Southgate revealing he was dealing with a family matter and returning to England.
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Sterling should no longer participate in the World Cup in Qatar
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England revealed Sterling was dealing with a ‘family matter’
It has now emerged that his home in Surrey, near Chelsea’s training ground, was the target of a burglary on Saturday night.
Sterling’s family was inside at the time and he is concerned for the welfare of his children.
Sterling has been told by the Football Association that he is welcome to join the squad in Qatar if and when the time is right.
The Chelsea star has the support of Southgate and his teammates.
“I spent a lot of time with him this morning trying to figure out the best way for him to handle everything,” the England manager told talkSPORT after the 3-0 win over Senegal, which booked a quarter-final with France for next Saturday. .
“He’s going home tonight. The priority right now is his family and we have 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 bubble terms, but obviously we have to give him the space and the time to figure out exactly what’s going to happen.”
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Sterling moved to London this summer, leaving Man City for Chelsea
The 27-year-old was a key player under Southgate and scored 20 goals in 81 caps for England.
He was named in the starting XI for the Three Lions’ opening group stage game against Iran, scoring in a 6-2 win.
He also started the 0-0 draw with USA, but was replaced by Jack Grealish after 68 minutes.
Sterling was then sent off in the 3-0 win over Wales and failed to come off the bench in the Group B final.
England’s 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 has made a switch against Senegal from the side that beat Wales, with Bukayo Saka returning from Arsenal in place of Marcus Rashford.
Phil Foden kept his place and Southgate’s selection decisions paid off.
Saka scored while Foden created two in a comfortable 3-0 victory that reserves a mouth-watering last-eight showdown against France for England.
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