Manchester City star missing from England training ahead of upcoming Euro’s opener

Manchester City defender John Stones will miss England training on Wednesday ahead of Sunday’s clash against Serbia.

The 30-year-old is one of three Manchester City players to have been included in Gareth Southgate’s 26-man England squad for the European Championship in Germany this summer, with Jack Grealish and Kalvin Phillips both missing out for the Three Lions.

Grealish was dramatically axed from the squad ahead of the tournament last week, with Kyle Walker, Phil Foden and Stones the three players to be representing Manchester City within the England squad this summer.

The trio all won a record-breaking fourth successive Premier League title last month and have won six trophies with Manchester City in the past year, including the UEFA Champions League, Emirates FA Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.

The three players will be bidding for international silverware over the next month, with England beginning their European Championship campaign against Serbia on Sunday evening in Schalke.

England will also play Denmark and Slovenia during their Group C campaign, although the Three Lions suffered defeat to Iceland at Wembley Stadium ahead of the start of the tournament.

Stones’ availability for the opening clash this weekend could have been thrown into doubt, as the centre-back has been forced into missing Wednesday’s training session due to illness, according to the Daily Mail’s Craig Hope.

The defender has endured a campaign plagued by problems, with Stones making just 22 starts for Manchester City during the recent season.

Stones, who started the Emirates FA Cup Final loss to Manchester United last month, featured in only six matches for the Sky Blues across April and May.

Stones is the second Manchester City player to have suffered a problem ahead of the tournament, after Spanish media reported that Rodri suffered a ‘blow to the knee’ during a training session earlier this week.

Spain begin their campaign against Croatia on Saturday, and also face crunch clashes against Italy and Albania in Group B.