John Stones’ injury has given England manager Gareth Southgate the chance to explore his centre-back options in the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia. The City defender was forced off with a problem in Tuesday’s Champions League win over Young Boys with boss Pep Guardiola admitting it is “deep bad news”. Stones only returned to action in October after a two-month absence with hamstring and hip problems but Southgate had no hesitation in starting him in the important qualifying win over Italy. But with qualification for the summer’s tournament in Germany already secured, Southgate – who names his squad on Thursday – can afford to look at his back-up options. Brighton captain Lewis Dunk and AC Milan’s Fikayo Tomori started together in last month’s friendly win over Australia but Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi was the man Southgate opted to replace Stones for the final 27 minutes against Italy and has the most caps of the trio. Injuries to Ben Chilwell and Luke Shaw meant Kieran Trippier filled in at left-back against Italy but Chelsea’s Levi Colwill started against Australia and could be another one to benefit from any experimentation. Colwill’s club captain Reece James could be in for a recall having returned from injury while Chelsea team-mate Raheem Sterling will be hoping two goals and some improved form in his last five matches will earn him a call-up for the first time since the World Cup. Those chances could be enhanced depending on the extent of the ankle injury sustained by James Maddison during Tottenham’s loss to Chelsea on Monday and how significant the hamstring problem which forced off Callum Wilson in Newcastle’s Champions League defeat against Borussia Dortmund. But Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka should return after withdrawing from the squad in October. Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips’ 49 minutes of action since his international start against Italy is unlikely to count against him, but James Ward-Prowse is knocking on the door of a first call-up in 14 months after a number of good performances for West Ham. Read More Jos Buttler wants to remain as England one-day captain despite poor World Cup Lauren Williams opens up on challenging time coping with Tokyo heartbreak Michael O’Neill expecting a tough international window for Northern Ireland

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Kieran Trippier is refusing to give up on Newcastle’s Champions League dream after a bruising night in Dortmund left them with a mountain to climb. The Magpies, playing in the competition for the first time in 20 years, sat proudly at the top of Group F on October 4 after a thumping 4-1 victory over Paris St Germain. A little more than a month on, back-to-back defeats a the hands of Borussia Dortmund – the second of them a 2-0 reverse at the Signal Iduna Stadium on Tuesday evening – left them at the bottom of the pile with just two games to play, although former Tottenham full-back Trippier knows from personal experience how quickly things can change. The 33-year-old, who swiftly turned his attention to Saturday’s Premier League trip to Bournemouth, said: “When I was at Tottenham, we had Barcelona and Inter Milan in our group and everyone said it was done, but never say never. “We got to the final that year, so it is a never-say-die attitude from us. We can’t control what happens, we just have to focus on Bournemouth and forget this.” Newcastle’s current haul of four points from four games is equal to what Trippier’s Spurs had managed by the same point in 2018-19, when defeats by Inter and Barcelona were followed by a draw at PSV Eindhoven and then a 2-1 home win over the Dutch outfit. Everybody has to stand up. There are always going to be injuries in football Newcastle defender Kieran Trippier They eventually secured second place in Group B by beating the Italians in north London and then drawing at the Nou Camp, where substitute Lucas Moura’s late equaliser ensured they edged out the Serie A giants before going on to reach the final in Madrid, where they lost 2-0 to Liverpool. Five years on, Trippier and his current team-mates will travel to Paris later this month ahead of AC Milan’s December visit to St James’ Park, knowing they may need to win both games to make it out of the group and their chances of doing so could depend largely on how far their injury problems have abated. Head coach Eddie Howe was without Dan Burn, Sven Botman, Alexander Isak, Harvey Barnes, Jacob Murphy, Matt Targett, Elliot Anderson and Javier Manquillo, as well as the suspended Sandro Tonali, in Germany and returned with Callum Wilson nursing a tight hamstring. He will hope key defender Botman and striker Isak at least can play a part in the remaining group games, although Trippier was in no mood to use the selection crisis as an excuse. He said: “Everybody has to stand up. There are always going to be injuries in football. “The good thing about us is that as a team and a manager, we don’t make excuses. Everybody feels valued in this team and we have a strong bond as a team. “The reality is we are missing a lot of key players. But you look at Manchester United away and Arsenal at home and we’ve got good results, so there are no excuses from us. Whatever team the manager picks, we give everything.” Newcastle headed back to Tyneside wondering what might have been after passing up opportunities to cancel out Niclas Fullkrug’s opener when Lewis Hall’s driven cross from a short corner move evaded all his team-mates and Joelinton sent a close-range header wide, and they were made to pay when Julian Brandt cemented the win late on. Trippier said: “These are the fine margins. We had a great chance from the set-piece routine – on another day it is a tap in, Joelinton’s header. “There was nothing in the game, but at this level, it is about being clinical.” Read More On this day in 2004: Jason Robinson named as England’s first black captain Eddie Howe knows Newcastle need two wins to keep Champions League hopes alive Jacob Neestrup: Parken atmosphere is 100 times more intense than Old Trafford FA asks Mikel Arteta and Arsenal for observations after referee comments Tragedy chanting causes ‘unbearable pain’ and must stop – Margaret Aspinall ‘Just ridiculous’ – A closer look at Glenn Maxwell’s remarkable double century

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Wales manager Rob Page has promised not to jeopardise the health of Brennan Johnson by telling him to turn up for international duty when carrying an injury. Johnson will miss Wales’ crunch Euro 2024 qualifier against Croatia in Cardiff on October 15 after sustaining a hamstring injury on his first start for Tottenham against Arsenal in the north London derby. Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou confirmed on Friday that Johnson will miss Tottenham’s Premier League trip to Luton this weekend but will be fit to return after the international break. Page said: “The communication between us and Tottenham has been first-class. It’s about having mutual respect. Both managers want a talented player fit so it’s about working together. “I’m not going to insist that he has to come away and we’re going to play him, jeopardise his safety and health. I wouldn’t do that. But they also understand the importance of our games.” Page criticised Johnson’s former club Nottingham Forest after he missed Wales’ Euro 2024 qualifier away to Croatia in March. Page said at the time that he should have been “stronger” to ensure Johnson arrived on camp for Wales to make their own medical assessment of the 22-year-old forward. Johnson has since joined Tottenham for £47.5million – the second highest transfer fee paid for a Welsh player after Gareth Bale – and is considered to be a hugely influential figure as Wales move forward in the post-Bale era. On communicating with Tottenham over Johnson’s fitness situation, Page added: “We’ve had great conversations with them, but ultimately his injury will dictate whether he can meet up or not.” Wales realistically need to avoid defeat against World Cup semi-finalists Croatia and win both games of their November double-header to secure automatic qualification for next summer’s Euro 2024 in Germany. Captain Aaron Ramsey was not named in the squad for the Croatia game after damaging a knee tendon and has also been ruled out of November’s games against Armenia and Turkey by his Cardiff manager Erol Bulut. Read More Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou would eradicate VAR in its current form Erik Ten Hag insists managing Manchester United is not an impossible job Leigh Wood: I’m Josh Warrington’s last chance to get back into title contention

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