Gareth Southgate explains why he omitted Jordan Henderson from England squad

Gareth Southgate has revealed that he omitted Jordan Henderson from his most recent England squad as he did not feel the need to assess the Liverpool captain this summer, and preferred to give him a rest.

The Reds have endured a hectic 2021/22 campaign, reaching both domestic cup finals while they also have a Champions League final to contend with against Real Madrid this weekend.

Henderson had been expected to feature for the Three Lions in their four UEFA Nations League matches this summer too, only for Southgate to leave him out of the squad when it was announced on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, clubmate Trent Alexander-Arnold did get the call up, and Southgate explained his decision-making process to the media after the squad was confirmed.

"I was very conscious of the Champions League boys. They've had a remarkable season - they couldn't have been involved in any more matches," he said.

"We've learned over the past three of four years that when we've had players in that match the emotional fallout, win or lose from that game, is enormous. So you're not too sure what's going to come through the door."

"I spoke to the two lads about what they felt was best for them. And they're in different positions because of Jordan's age and the number of caps he's got is totally different to Trent of course."

"We've got good players in all those areas of the pitch, so we've got cover. We felt we didn't need to see Hendo this summer.

"With Trent it's slightly different. We gave him the option to report a bit later so he got a longer break after the final, but he felt more comfortable to keep going and then finish a bit earlier. Given the schedule they've got and the game they're involved with this weekend, I was happy to work around what he felt was best for his training rhythm."

England kick off their summer fixtures with a trip to Hungary on Saturday 4 June with games against Germany, Italy and then Hungary to come afterwards.


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Source : 90min