Walker, Maguire withdraw from England squad ahead Belgium clash

England trio Kyle Walker, Harry Maguire and Sam Johnstone have all withdrawn from the Three Lions’ squad ahead of Tuesday’s friendly with Belgium, while James Trafford and Rico Lewis have been called up to the senior squad.

Walker and Maguire were both named in the starting lineup for Saturday’s clash with Brazil, where Endrick condemned England to their first Wembley defeat since October 2020.

The former’s race was run with just 19 minutes on the clock, though, as he tried to play through the pain of an apparent hamstring problem before coming off for debutant Ezri Konsa.

Head coach Gareth Southgate was in the dark about the severity of Walker’s issue immediately after the game, although the Manchester City man was hopeful that he had not sustained anything major.

However, ahead of Manchester City’s pivotal Premier League clash with title rivals Arsenal on March 31, Walker has now pulled out of the squad and will play no part in the Three Lions’ upcoming battle with Belgium.

England confirmed that Walker would continue to receive assessment upon his return to Manchester, but his participation in the showdown with Arsenal on Easter Sunday has now been plunged into even more doubt.

The 33-year-old is one of three players to leave the camp owing to recent injuries, a list which also includes Manchester United’s Maguire, who took the captain’s armband from Walker upon his teammate’s exit on Saturday.

Maguire was substituted with 67 minutes on the clock against Brazil, and while there was no mention of an injury to the 31-year-old on Saturday, he has also picked up an unexplained problem which will require a once-over.

In Maguire’s absence, Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite could now come into contention for his senior England debut on Tuesday evening, where Crystal Palace stopper Johnstone will not be present either.

With a spot opening up in the goalkeeping ranks behind Jordan Pickford and Aaron Ramsdale, Southgate has promoted Burnley shot-stopper Trafford to the senior ranks for the very first time.

The 21-year-old played every minute for England’s Under-21s during their run to Euro 2023 glory and began the 2023-24 Premier League season as Burnley’s number one following their promotion from the Championship.

However, Trafford only kept two clean sheets in his first 28 appearances in England’s top flight and was dropped for Arijanet Muric for the Clarets’ most recent clash with Brentford, which ended in a 2-1 win for Vincent Kompany’s side.

Nevertheless, Trafford – who started for Lee Carsley’s Young Lions in their 5-1 thrashing of Azerbaijan on Thursday – has been deemed worthy of promotion to the senior setup, as has Manchester City’s Lewis.

The 19-year-old – stepping in for his injured clubmate Walker – also made the first XI in that midweek win over Azerbaijan and already has one senior cap to his name, playing the full 90 in November’s final Euro 2024 qualifying draw with North Macedonia at left-back.

Southgate has already confirmed that Harry Kane will not be fit to face Belgium either, while Cole Palmer and Jordan Henderson will require late fitness tests.