England defender Trent Alexander-Arnold has been ruled out of Euro 2020 with a thigh injury.

The 22-year-old is expected to be sidelined for around six weeks and will return to his club for rehabilitation.

Manager Gareth Southgate will not name a replacement until after Sunday’s final warm-up game with Romania.

Alexander-Arnold’s inclusion as one of four right-backs was one of the main talking points when Southgate named his squad last week, with the Liverpool player having missed the previous seven internationals.

England’s first game at Euro 2020 is against 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia at Wembley on Sunday, 13 June.

‘It may give Southgate options further forward’ – analysis

Hopefully for Liverpool, Alexander-Arnold will be back for pre-season and the start of next season.

But for England, after all the debate around his selection, it’s a heavy blow for Gareth Southgate. He could have been a very important player in the Euros.

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One of the debating points when the squad was named was the inclusion of four right-backs.

England are well blessed in that position, even with Alexander-Arnold dropping out – Kieran Trippier won La Liga with Atletico Madrid, Kyle Walker won the Premier League with Manchester City and Reece James won the Champions League with Chelsea.

Southgate may choose to bring in Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse, who many felt was unlucky to be left out, or Jesse Lingard, who played on Wednesday night and was involved in the goal.

Southgate has three quality right-backs in the squad already, and they are versatile, so that maybe leaves him room for manoeuvre further forward in midfield.