Harry Maguire had to be omitted from Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad, having been unable to recover in time from a calf injury.. The 31-year-old defender – a stalwart in Southgate’s England setup since the manager’s appointment in 2016 – has featured in both the 2022 and 2018 World Cups, as well as the Euros in 2021. With 63 caps for England, the Manchester United centre-back expressed his disappointment in missing out in the upcoming tournament, sharing that he is “absolutely gutted”.. Maguire has been out of action since April, following a muscle injury sustained during a training session with Manchester United – an issue that also caused him to miss the team’s FA Cup final triumph over Manchester City in May. His continued struggles with fitness have ruled him out of contention as the European championship.. READ MORE: Alan Shearer explains two missing Manchester United players makes him ‘worried’. READ MORE: Ten Hag won a battle against Ronaldo and a war to keep his job. Reflecting on not making the squad, Maguire said: “I am devastated not to have been selected to play for England at the Euros this summer. Despite my best efforts, I have not been able to overcome an injury to my calf. Maybe I pushed myself too hard, to try and make it.”. He added: “Simply, I am absolutely gutted. For me, representing England is the highest honour. It means everything to me. If I can’t help the team as a player, I will support them as a fan along with the rest of the country. Go and win it, boys. Next, I will return to the supervision of the Manchester United medical team in order to prepare for next season”, reports the Mirror.. Maguire was a key part of Southgate’s Euro 2020 side (Image: Getty Images). Maguire’s omission comes as one of seven players cut from Gareth Southgate’s squad, with United transfer target Jarrad Branthwaite, Curtis Jones, Jack Grealish, and James Maddison also missing out. Southgate, discussing his squad choices, explained: “Harry has made some progress but it has been complicated and we definitely wouldn’t have had him in the group stages.. “There were too many hurdles to get through without really being clear of where we might get to. Given that we haven’t got a clean bill of health across the rest of the backline as well, the decision became that we needed cover and players that are fit and ready to go from the start.”. Sign up to our United newsletter so you never miss an update from Old Trafford this season.. Reflecting on the decision, he added: “It was another really difficult call. You know how I feel about Harry Maguire and what he has done for England and what he has done for me as a manager.” Despite the setback, Maguire had a solid 2023/24 season with Manchester United, making 31 appearances in all competitions and contributing to their FA Cup route to victory over Manchester City – although he was sidelined by injury during the final itself.. Maguire was also a key player in the Euro 2020 England squad that reached the delayed tournament’s final three years ago, scoring in a 4-0 quarter-final triumph over Ukraine and starting in the final against Italy. The match ended in penalties after a 1-1 draw could not be broken, and despite Maguire successfully converting his penalty against Gianluigi Donnarumma, the Three Lions were left empty-handed as Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka failed to score in their high-pressure one-on-ones.. England’s first match of Euro 2024 is against Serbia at 8pm on Sunday (June 16), with Denmark and Slovenia also in their group.. Try MUFC Pro NOW for free. Subscribe to our brilliant app for the best way to enjoy the M.E.N’s unrivalled Manchester United coverage.. No adverts, pop-ups or distractions – just our brilliant content presented in the best way possible.. Comprehensive, round-the-clock coverage of the Reds, with agenda-setting breaking news and insight from Samuel Luckhurst and our authoritative team of United writers. Exclusive content for subscribers. New interactive elements including (coming soon) quizzes to test your United knowledge.. Try MUFC Pro for a front-row seat to the action at absolutely no cost for the first month. You can get started by downloading our app here on iPhone, or here on Android. If you already have our app, click on the ”MUFC Pro’,’ Subscribe’ or ‘ Remove ads’ links.. *Free trial auto renews at £19.99 annually unless cancelled. T&C’s apply. Ad-free indicates that you will not be shown standard display ad formats with the articles that you read, selected articles may contain commercial messages/affiliate links where contractually required.
