Injuries force Harry Maguire and Kyle Walker to withdraw from England squad

It has been confirmed by the FA that due to various injuries, Harry Maguire from Manchester United, Kyle Walker of Manchester City and Sam Johnstone from Crystal Palace have all withdrawn from playing in the England senior squad.

During England's friendly match against Brazil at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night, Walker was substituted only 20 minutes into the game. Gareth Southgate, the team's manager, confirmed after the game that the full-back will be evaluated in the upcoming days. Walker has now returned to Manchester City to undergo this evaluation.

Manchester United's centre-back Maguire, another experienced defender, was also taken out of the game during the defeat, departing at the 67th minute. Despite recent injury woes, he was considered fit enough to participate in the match against Brazil. Similar to Walker, Maguire has returned to his club for an assessment of his latest injury.

As a result of these absences, including Johnstone's, manager Southgate has chosen to bring up Rico Lewis and James Trafford from the under-21 team.

Lewis has had one previous experience with the senior squad, playing his first game against North Macedonia in November. Trafford, on the other hand, could make his debut appearance for the senior squad when England face Belgium at Wembley Stadium this Tuesday.

Trafford has been battling inconsistent club-level form recently, with Burnley dropping him over the past few weeks. However, he has proven to be a consistent performer for England at the underage level over many years.

Southgate will not only be without Maguire, Walker and Johnstone, but also top forwards Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka, who both missed the Brazil defeat due to injuries.