Manchester United Defender Ruled Out Of Nigeria Friendly

England will not call upon Manchester United central defender Phil Jones for Saturday's international friendly against the Super Eagles of Nigeria as his wife is due to give birth, Belfast Telegraph reports on Friday morning.

Head coach Gareth Southgate had the full complement of his squad with the Nigerian side albeit Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana who is on the Three Lions' standby list trained with the rest of the team on Friday.

"I've had continual dialogue with Adam throughout the season, close and personal conversations," Southgate revealed.

"It has been a frustrating season for him. Under normal circumstances he wouldn't be anywhere near the squad but he is a player we have a lot of time for."


The English side trained in the grounds of the Grove hotel, with Southgate expected to be joined by Manchester United forward Jesse Lingard in a press conference scheduled for 1400 hours.