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Sport | Football
England will be without John Stones for tonight’s World Cup qualifier with Andorra, but Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Jarell Quansah have joined the squad.
The Three Lions face Group K minnows at Villa Park on Saturday, and there could be a first-ever senior cap for Quansah after the Bayer Leverkusen centre-back was added to camp late by Thomas Tuchel.
Also now available is AC Milan midfielder Loftus-Cheek, whose last cap came in 2018 but who knows the England head coach from their time together at Chelsea.
Quansah and Loftus-Cheek were called up after Adam Wharton pulled out of the squad due to an adductor injury sustained while playing for Crystal Palace. Tuchel confirmed at his pre-match press conference that Stones has since withdrawn due to an ongoing injury.
The Manchester City man was due to work under Tuchel for the first time but pulled out of the squad on Friday morning due to muscular problems. Dan Burn is set to start at centre-back for the Three Lions, in the absence of Stones, with Ezri Konsa his likely partner.
Tuchel is expected to name close to his strongest possible XI for Tuesday’s crunch qualifier against Serbia in Belgrade, so the German could be more experimental against Andorra.
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Quansah is not the only player hoping for a maiden cap, with Manchester City goalkeeper James Trafford and first-time call-ups Djed Spence of Tottenham and Elliot Anderson of Nottingham Forest in the frame for senior debuts. Tuchel sees Spence as a left-back and Anderson as a No8.
The England head coach will likely select a 4-2-3-1 formation and may be minded to hand caps to players who do not usually start for their country, such as Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson and Brentford’s summer signing Jordan Henderson in midfield.
Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer and Jude Bellingham were the most notable omissions from the original squad named by Tuchel last week, all missing out due to injury issues.
Predicted England XI (4-2-3-1): D Henderson; James, Konsa, Burn, Livramento; J Henderson, Anderson; Bowen, Eze, Madueke; Kane
Injured: Stones, Saka, Palmer, Bellingham, Wharton
Time and date: 5pm BST on Saturday September 6, 2025
Venue: Villa Park
How to watch: ITV
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