Raheem Sterling rejoins England squad before France quarter final

Raheem Sterling will rejoin England’s World Cup squad on Friday after the Football Association confirmed the forward has decided to fly back to Qatar.

Telegraph Sport reported on Wednesday night that there was optimism Sterling would fly back to Qatar in time for England’s quarter-final against France on Saturday.

Sterling had been granted compassionate leave to return to England on Sunday after a robbery at his home in Surrey, where his family were staying, and missed the last-16 victory over Senegal.

Although there is virtually no chance of Sterling starting against France, having missed almost the entire week of training, his return will still be a positive for manager Gareth Southgate.

An FA statement said: “Raheem Sterling will return to England’s World Cup base in Qatar. The Chelsea forward temporarily left to attend a family matter, but is now expected to rejoin the squad at Al Wakrah on Friday (9 December) ahead of the quarter-final with France.”

Sterling will be able to take a place among the substitutes and give Southgate a full range of options from the bench should England need a goal at any stage against France.

With Callum Wilson missing training on Wednesday with what was described as being a ‘minor strain’, the return of Sterling will be particularly timely even though the Newcastle United striker is confident of being fit.

Sterling’s return will also be welcomed by his England team-mates, who had been concerned for the 27-year-old and his family, and had been messaging him their best wishes since his departure from the squad.

Sterling made it clear that he would only consider returning to the England squad once he could be confident that his family were safe and well, and after speaking with the police.

On Wednesday, Surrey police, who have been investigating the robbery at Sterling’s home, revealed they had arrested two men over a separate incident.

A statement said: “Two men were arrested on suspicion of attempted burglary last night (6 December) in the Oxshott area. They are currently in custody.

“Following reports of suspicious activity around 6.40pm, a number of resources were deployed, including the dog unit and the police helicopter. Our colleagues from British Transport Police also provided assistance.

“At this time these arrests are not being linked to an ongoing investigation into a burglary which received significant media coverage over the weekend. That separate investigation remains ongoing and as of 12.00 on Wednesday, 7 December no arrests have been made in connection with that.

“Officers are carrying out enquiries into the circumstances and the investigation remains ongoing.”