The news came ahead of the full team announcement for England’s World Cup last-16 tie against Senegal, a match the Three Lions went on to win 3-0.

After the victory, England manager Gareth Southgate was asked whether Sterling would figure as the tournament progresses further.

'We have got to wait and see,' Southgate responded. 'At the moment clearly the priority is for him to be with his family and we are going to support that and we are going to need him to have as much time as he needs. He is going home.'

The Three Lions manager was then asked what is the likelihood of the Chelsea player returning to this World Cup.

'I really don’t know,' he admitted, 'because at the moment it is a situation that he needs time with his family to deal with and I don’t want to put him under any pressure with that. Sometimes football isn’t the most important thing and family should come first.'