Sterling 'leaving England camp to return home after break-in'
Raheem Sterling is leaving England's World Cup base in Qatar due to a break-in at his family home, reports suggest.
Less than two hours prior to England's 3-0 last 16 victory over Senegal, fans were informed that the Chelsea winger would be unavailable for selection.
After the result, more details surfaced regarding the reasons, with Sky News and the BBC suggesting the player was preparing to return home as soon as he had heard the news.
According to Sky News, Sterling's family were at the property during the time of the break-in, and he wanted to get back as soon as possible. Sterling has three young children.
Manager Gareth Southgate confirmed the news after Sunday's win against Senegal.
"Sometimes football isn't the most important thing and family should come first," said Southgate.
"We want to give him that space and we will see over the next few days how that develops."
It is understood the incident happened on Saturday night.
The 27-year-old scored in England's 6-2 win over Iran in their opening group game before being called on again for the 0-0 draw with the USA.
He was arguably England's star player of the team's run to the Euro 2020 final, starting all seven games.
