Trent Alexander-Arnold has been omitted from the England squad to play Andorra and Hungary next month, with Jordan Henderson the sole Liverpool representative.
The Three Lions continue their World Cup qualifying campaign with a trip to Andorra’s Estadi Nacional on October 9, before welcoming Hungary to Wembley on October 12.
Gareth Southgate’s side are currently top of Group I, and as such are favourites to book their place at Qatar 2022, which will be held midway through next season.
Thursday’s squad announcement saw Aaron Ramsdale, Fikayo Tomori and Ollie Watkins return to the fold, but there was no place for Joe Gomez.
Gomez is yet to feature for England since the knee injury suffered in training for his country last November, and so far he has made only two starts for Liverpool this season.
Henderson is, therefore, the only Reds player called up, with the 31-year-old a valued senior member of Southgate’s group who wears the captain’s armband in Harry Kane’s absence.
The big news is the omission of Alexander-Arnold, who is sidelined with a groin injury which is clearly severe enough to rule him out for the next two weeks.
Speaking after Tuesday night’s 5-1 win over Porto, which the right-back missed, Jurgen Klopp cast doubt over his involvement against Man City this weekend – and also England contention.
A decision to leave him out against Andorra and Hungary suggests Alexander-Arnold could be sidelined for at least a fortnight, though Klopp is likely to give more of an insight in his pre-match press conference on Friday.
England squad for October
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale, Sam Johnstone
Defenders: John Stones, Tyrone Mings, Conor Coady, Fikayo Tomori, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker, Luke Shaw, Reece James
Midfielders: Jordan Henderson, Kalvin Phillips, Declan Rice, Phil Foden, Jesse Lingard, Mason Mount
Forwards: Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish, Jadon Sancho, Ollie Watkins, Bukayo Saka
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