John Stones out of England squad for World Cup qualifiers

John Stones has withdrawn from England's squad for this weekend's World Cup qualifiers after failing to overcome a minor muscle problem, manager Thomas Tuchel said Friday, ruling the Manchester City defender out of the games against Andorra at Villa Park on Saturday and Serbia in Belgrade on Tuesday. Stones left the national team training camp on Friday and returned to Manchester for treatment after not progressing as hoped, Tuchel said.

"Unfortunately, John Stones has just left," Tuchel told reporters. "He came with minor muscle issues to camp and did not progress the way we thought and hoped he would. So he left camp this morning because we will not take the risk, not against Andorra and also, unfortunately, not against Serbia." Manchester City later described the decision as a precautionary measure.

Stones, 31, has started all three of City's Premier League matches this season and featured in their defeats and victories before reporting for England duty. Tuchel said Stones arrived at camp already carrying the muscular issue but the staff had hoped a short period of training would be sufficient for recovery. That did not happen, he added, and the club and national team opted...