Raheem Sterling has trained with England in Qatar for the first time since returning home after his family home was robbed.
The Chelsea striker returned to the UK on Sunday after being told his home in Surrey had been targeted, raising concerns for his family.
Sterling has now returned to Qatar and joined the rest of his England team-mates in training on Friday ahead of Saturday’s quarter-final against France – live on talkSPORT.
The 28-year-old was warmly welcomed on his return by former Manchester City teammate John Stones, Kalvin Phillips, Kieran Tripper and Bukayo Saka, among others.
Once Sterling was back on the training ground, it was business as usual, taking part in a number of drills as England assistant coach Steve Holland looked on.
Gareth Southgate has confirmed Sterling will likely start Saturday’s game on the bench after what has been a difficult and emotionally draining week.
“Raheem came back this morning so we’re going to have to assess exactly where he is,” explained the England manager.
“He obviously missed a lot of training, but it’s good to have him back in the squad.”
When Southgate was asked if Sterling could be named as a replacement, he added: “Well, I guess so.
“But, as I said, he hasn’t been on the training ground with us and he’s just finished a seven-hour flight.
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to him since he landed but we’ll see how he’s doing in training and we’ll see how he’s doing when I can talk to him.”
Despite Sterling’s less than ideal preparation ahead of the quarter-final showdown, Southgate have a squad of players in fine form to take on Didier Deschamps’ side.
Southgate knows that if England managed to fight their way past France, Morocco or Portugal would prevent England from reaching their first World Cup final since 1966.
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