Why Man City defender John Stones missed England training before Euro 2024 opener

Manchester City defender John Stones was absent from England training on Wednesday due to illness ahead of their Euro 2024 opener against Serbia on Sunday.

Gareth Southgate has had to deal with a number of absentees and fitness concerns in the build-up to the tournament. All 26 players had trained on Tuesday, which was England's first session after arriving in Germany.

That number includes Manchester United full-back Luke Shaw, who has played since suffering a hamstring tear in February. Stones, who went off with an injury in Friday's friendly against Iceland, also took part in the session.

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After the game, Southgate insisted that the substitution was precautionary, saying: "We think he's probably OK but we didn't want to take a chance given what's coming up.

"[It was] mainly precautionary, he obviously took a bit of a knock to the ankle very early in the game. At half-time there was no point in taking any chance. We're too close to the start of the tournament and there was no point risking it."

Though Stones appeared to have avoided injury, he was absent during Wednesday's training session at their Spa & Golf Resort Weimarer Land base in Blankenhain. However, he is likely to start alongside Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi in the centre of defence.

Stones made 16 league appearances for Pep Guardiola last season after a hip problem kept him out for the first two months of the season. Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias were chosen by Guardiola during that period as he recovered on the sidelines.

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