Harry Maguire will play no part in England’s Nations League fixtures this week.
The Manchester United centre-back was a stalwart for Gareth Southgate during his tenure as Three Lions boss.
The 31-year-old has 64 caps for his country, but he won’t be adding to that tally as England take on Greece and Finland in the Nations League.
Instead, he will be sitting at home and watching his teammates on the TV.
Why is Harry Maguire not playing for England?
Maguire wasn’t picked by Lee Carsley for this round of Nations League fixtures.
The interim Three Lions boss decided to go with some different options, meaning Maguire has no part to play.
He was in the last squad and played 85 minutes of the Three Lions’ 2-0 win over the Republic of Ireland.
Maguire remained an unused substitute in the following match against Finland at Wembley, and he’s been left out of the team entirely here.
Speaking about that decision after his squad was announced, Carsley said: “It was a chance of having a look at other players. It’s nothing to do with form. It’s looking at the next two camps to look at other players.
“The players left out all have a case but we saw the benefit in the last camp of the squad being fresh, feeling fresh and a lot of energy in it.
“It’s not just a copy and a paste, I want them to feel like they all have earned their place in the squad. People want to know where they stand long-term, I’ve told all the players this is a short-term situation.”
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However, the interim manager insists that Maguire still has a role to play.
Carsley added: “Harry is a player I’ve worked with in the past. He was very positive in the conversation we have.
“It was a case of talking to him about what my decision was, we have some really good centre-backs who we are keen to see play. Harry still has a really important part to play, not just in this squad but also in the campaign.”
Since then, Maguire stepped off the bench for United to score a last-gasp equaliser in their 3-3 draw with Porto in the Europa League.
He also started the 0-0 against Aston Villa but was withdrawn at halftime due to an injury.
It’s unclear what the issue is, but even if he had been picked for the England squad, he might have had to withdraw anyway.
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After the game, Erik ten Hag was asked to share an update on Maguire, but he didn’t have too much information.
He said: “We have to assess this. I can’t tell you now what the issue is. I know what the issue is, but [I cannot say now] how good or bad it is.
“We have to see, assess this tomorrow [Monday], and then we will bring you news.”
