England manager Gareth Southgate has revealed that West Ham United attacker Jarrod Bowen will not be available for Monday's Euro 2024 qualifying Group C clash with North Macedonia.
The Three Lions are playing for a place in Pot 1 of the group-stage draw in Skopje, having already sealed top spot in Group C prior to Friday's 2-0 beating of Malta.
With 19 points to show from their seven fixtures so far, England need only draw against North Macedonia - who they thrashed 7-0 at Old Trafford in June - to join hosts Germany, Belgium, Portugal, France and one other nation in Pot 1.
Friday's beating of Malta at Wembley saw an Enrico Pepe own goal precede a Harry Kane strike in a routine two-goal success, where Declan Rice had a second-half strike ruled out for offside.
Rice's former Irons teammate Bowen was an unused substitute against Malta, as was the case in October's 3-1 win over Italy, but the 26-year-old would have been eyeing a sixth cap for his country against North Macedonia.
However, speaking to a press conference ahead of England's final group fixture, Southgate confirmed that Bowen would not be present in Skopje, having sustained an issue in a training session.
"Unfortunately Jarrod picked up an injury, I think he felt it a little bit yesterday and again at the end of training today," the England manager told reporters.
"We didn't really have enough time to assess it fully and make a really accurate decision before the game so we felt better to leave him in England so that he can get it properly assessed. I don't think it's going to be anything serious but we just didn't have enough time and we wouldn't take a risk in that situation."
The exact nature of Bowen's injury has not been disclosed, but The Independent claims that the former Hull City man picked up a knee problem on the practice pitches, forcing him to stay at home.
While Southgate is confident that the winger has avoided a serious problem, news of Bowen's injury is sure to cause concern among the West Ham faithful, who have witnessed the England international score eight Premier League goals already this season.
Bowen wrote a new page of history as the first-ever player to score in his team's opening six away games of a Premier League season, before also netting in last weekend's 3-2 home victory over Nottingham Forest.
The 26-year-old has become the second England player to withdraw from the squad in a matter of hours, as Newcastle United right-back Kieran Trippier departed for personal reasons earlier on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Levi Colwill, Jude Bellingham, Lewis Dunk, James Maddison and Callum Wilson all pulled out with injuries before the beating of Malta, where Marcus Rashford was forced off on the 61-minute mark after colliding with Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Southgate played down the severity of Rashford's problem after the game, though, and the Manchester United man has trained with England ahead of their final qualifying fixture.
Rashford was one of four England players on target in June's seven-goal thumping of North Macedonia, where Bukayo Saka netted a hat-trick and Kane bagged a brace alongside a rare goal for Kalvin Phillips. body check tags ::
