Raheem Sterling leaves England World Cup camp after armed robbers break into London home
Raheem Sterling did not feature in England’s World Cup victory against Senegal because he had returned to the UK to be with his family after his house in London was broken into by armed robbers on Saturday night.
It was revealed before kick-off that Sterling was unavailable because of a “family matter” and England manager Gareth Southgate confirmed afterwards that the forward had returned home.
Sterling’s partner and children were at home when the armed intruders broke in and the Chelsea forward was left shaken by the incident.
Sterling wanted to return home after being informed of the break-in and Southgate said the player will be granted as much time as he needs, with the 27-year-old concerned for the well-being of his children.
Sterling was expected to return to England’s line-up for the last-16 fixture against Sengeal in Qatar and Southgate added that he did not know if or when the international would return to the camp. England face defending champions France in the quarter-finals on Saturday 10 December.
Southgate told ITV: “We’ve got to wait and see. At the moment the priority is for him to be with his family. At the moment football is not the most important thing and family comes first.”
England captain Harry Kane added: “Our thoughts are with him and his family. It’s a private matter. It’s never easy to see a team-mate and a friend have to deal with something like that."
Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden started either side of Kane in England’s attack with Saka scoring England’s third goal and Foden coming away with two assists.
Sterling has made 81 appearances for England and his absence leaves England with 24 players in Qatar after Arsenal defender Ben White left the camp last week.
