Thomas Tuchel has thrown John Stones’s hopes of going to the World Cup into doubt after the defender’s latest injury setback forced him to pull out of England’s qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia.
Stones is one of the squad’s leading figures but he has been held back by a series of fitness issues during the past 18 months and has not featured at international level since last October. It is frustrating state of affairs for Tuchel, who hoped to start the Manchester City centre-back when England host Andorra at Villa Park on Saturday. Stones has been a regular at recent tournaments but he is yet to play for Tuchel, who made it clear that the 31-year-old will only remain an important part of his plans ahead of next summer’s World Cup if he stays fit.
“I’m a big fan of John, his personality and his quality” England’s head coach told BBC 5Live. “He could be an important figure, of course, but he needs to be available. He wants to be available and he’s a top professional, so he is the most upset in all this because he does really everything to be fit and struggles then with these minor issues from time to time that cost him game time.
“I hope he keeps his spirit up because he will stay important for us. I saw in these three days what he what he means to the group as a personality and as a social glue within the group. What he brings to the pitch is outstanding quality as a central defender and possibly as a pivotal No 6, but we have to adapt to it. He’s now not available anymore. We will find solutions for it.”
Tuchel planned to give Stones, who has played in City’s first three league games this season, a prominent role during this camp. Along with starting him at the back against Andorra, England’s head coach revealed that he was considering using him in defensive midfield for the trip to Serbia on Tuesday. “I think he would have maybe started as a central defender in this match, but he was in contention for playing No 6 for us as well,” Tuchel told Talksport. “It was in our thoughts to maybe use him as a six against Serbia. But listen, this is how it is. He’s very upset. He’s very upset because he does everything on a daily basis to be fit.
“Now he has again minor issues. It will cost him two caps for the national team. It will maybe cost him some minutes for Manchester City. He was a big part of camp so far. But, yeah, it is what it is. We have to adapt. We have to find solutions. We will have a strong team tomorrow, and we will come up with solutions without John.”
England’s other options at centre-back are Ezri Konsa, Dan Burn, Marc Guéhi and Jarell Quansah.