Devastating Harry Maguire news has been confirmed this afternoon 😢 in international duties
The FA has announced that Harry Maguire of Manchester United, Kyle Walker of Manchester City, and Sam Johnstone of Crystal Palace have all pulled out of the England senior squad because they are hurt.
Walker was taken off the field 20 minutes into England’s friendly loss to Brazil at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night. After the game, Gareth Southgate said that the full-back would be evaluated in the “coming days.” The England star has now gone back to Manchester City to get that evaluation.
Maguire, another experienced defender, was also taken off during the loss. He did so in the 67th minute of the game. The Man Utd centre back had been dealing with an injury issue lately, but he was deemed healthy enough to play against Brazil. Maguire, like Walker, has been sent back to his club to find out what’s wrong with him.
Manager Southgate has chosen to call up Rico Lewis and James Trafford from the under-21 team to fill in for them and Johnstone.
Lewis has played for the senior team once before, against North Macedonia in November. Trafford, on the other hand, could be making his debut for the senior team when England play Belgium at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday.
Recently, Trafford has had a rough time with his club form—Burnley dropped him recently—but he has been a steady performer for England at the youth level for a number of years.
In addition to Maguire, Walker, and Johnstone not being able to play, Southgate will also not be able to call on star forwards Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka, who both missed the loss to Brazil because they were hurt.
