Gareth Southgate admits Raheem Sterling has “the hump” with him, Metro reports, but the England manager has confirmed that the forward will start Sunday’s Euro 2020 qualifier in Kosovo.
Sterling will miss tonight’s clash against Montenegro after the incident with Joe Gomez earlier this week.
However, despite sitting out the Wembley fixture, Southgate says the Manchester City star has been “exemplary” in training.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Three Lions boss said: “I wouldn’t imagine that he’s hugely enthusiastic about me. You don’t have to be an expert in human behaviour to think it was possible.
“But his reaction has been brilliant. He spoke to the team really well and he’s trained really well and I can’t fault his reaction at all.”
The Sun reports that “Raheem’s back for round two” and when asked about Sterling starting on Sunday, Southgate added: “Yes. Without knowing what might happen in this game and everything else.
“What we’ve seen is somebody playing and training at the top level with good motivation and good technical ability.
“I’d have no hesitation in playing him. We drew a line under everything. We move forward now.”
Tonight’s Euro 2020 group A qualifier between England and Montenegro starts at 7.45pm and is live on ITV.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For analysis of the biggest sport stories - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on the week’s news - try The Week magazine. Get your first six issues for £6–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For analysis of the biggest sport stories - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on the week’s news - try The Week magazine. Get your first six issues for £6–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.