Arsenal defender Ben White has been forced to pull out of the England squad after picking up an injury.
The former Brighton & Hove Albion star was named in the Three Lions’ most recent squad for their UEFA Nations League games taking place next month after an impressive debut season at the Emirates Stadium.
However, it was confirmed by The English FA on Monday afternoon that he had no chance but to give up his place due to an undisclosed injury. A statement read : “Ben White will no longer report for England duty due to injury. The Arsenal defender was named in Gareth Southgate ’s 27-man selection last week but will continue his rehabilitation with his club. The majority of the squad reported to St. George’s Park on Monday ahead of England’s four UEFA Nations League fixtures.”
It has not been confirmed whether a replacement would be called into the squad as of yet, with Gareth Southgate set to make a decision before England’s matches next month. The Three Lions kick-off their latest Nations League campaign against Hungary at the weekend before a clash with Germany in Munich.
They then renew rivalries with Euro 2020 champions Italy at Wembley Stadium before rounding-off their summer commitments with the return clash with the Hungarians. They will have to negotiate all of those games without White though.
The 24-year-old has so far made four appearances for the Three Lions so far throughout his career having appeared in each of the last two matches. He had a relatively positive season in north London having arrived from Brighton.
Can England win the Nations League? Have your say in the comments below.
He made 37 appearances in all competitions and established a promising central-defensive partnership with Brazilian Gabriel Magalhaes. Some were however surprised that he was drafted into the England squad in place of Eric Dier but Southgate suggested that he was keen to see White in action slightly more.
Speaking in a press conference, he said: "I agree Eric has played very well for Spurs. We know Eric, we don't know some of these youngsters so we felt these are good matches to find out more about them. Eric is obviously playing in the middle of a three. It's a very specific position he's playing in and the team have been excellent at the end of the season.
"So we may well play with a three, we may well play with a four. We've got cover to do each of those things over the next few weeks but he's definitely in our thinking, but at this moment we can't give everybody time on the pitch that we'd like to and we felt that investment in time in Fikayo, Marc and Ben White in particular, those younger ones, ahead of Eric, for this camp would be more valuable to us."
In his absence, Southgate now has the likes of Conor Coady, Harry Maguire, John Stones, Fikayo Tomori and Marc Guehi to call upon for their upcoming games.
Elsewhere, the England U21s have also been dealt a troubling blow ahead of their summer fixtures with Tottenham Hotspur starlet Ryan Sessegnon having also been forced to pull-out through injury.
