Seven England players who suffered major injuries on international duty - Rice, Gomez, Ashton...

Sean Fisher
27 March 2022

Theo Walcott, Dean Ashton and Steven Gerrard are among the players to have suffered injury while on international duty

Most fans spend international breaks simply hoping that their players return to their club fit and healthy - these seven players show exactly why.

Manchester City fans would have taken a sharp intake of breath after John Stones was removed from the starting line-up moments before the international friendly with Switzerland on Saturday evening.

However, after the 2-1 victory England manager Gareth Southgate was in an upbeat mood about the setback and was quick to reassure the City faithful.

Southgate said: "We don't think it is too bad and could be ready for the next game. No point risking him in a game like this."

Sadly some England players have not been as fortunate as Stones. International duty can be the pinnacle of your career but it can also be the death knell.

History is littered with players whose seasons, or even careers, were thrown off course by injuries picked up while away with the Three Lions. Planet Sport takes a look at seven England players unfortunate enough to suffer serious injuries while on international duty.

Dean Ashton - 2009

Despite being hailed as a centre-forward with huge potential, Ashton's footballing career only spanned nine years.

Five years at Crewe Alexandra were followed by a season at Norwich City, before Ashton made a £7million switch to West Ham in 2006.

Ashton hit the ground running in east London and quickly caught the eye of new England boss Steve McClaren, who promoted the 23-year-old to the senior team.

Ashton was set to make his debut in a friendly against Greece, but suffered a major injury just a day before the match, with a tackle from Shaun Wright-Phillips (a rare thing in itself) leaving him with a broken ankle.

The injury ended up ruling Ashton out for an entire year, meaning he missed West Ham's season completely, a campaign the Hammers spent battling in the bottom half of the table.

Following his recovery, he was again called up to the England squad and was fit to feature in a match against Estonia, only for Ashton to suffer a sprained medial collateral ligament before the match, sidelining him again for another few weeks.

He eventually went on to make his international debut in 2008 but ongoing ankle issues stemming from the 2006 injury led to him retiring in 2009.

Steven Gerrard - 2010

The Liverpool captain's international injury ended up costing the FA over £500,000.

In November 2010, a 30-year-old Gerrard was captaining both his club and country, but was struggling to piece together a run of games due to injuries.

He was still called up to the national side for a friendly against France, prompting Damien Comolli, Liverpool's new director of football strategy, to request the midfielder play no more than an hour at Wembley.

It was reportedly verbally agreed with England's general manager Franco Baldini. Neverthesless, with the Three Lions trailing 2-0, boss Fabio Capello opted to keep Gerrard on the pitch.

Predictably, he suffered a hamstring injury that ruled him out for two months. Liverpool took action against the FA, resulting in the organisation having to compensate Gerrard's £120,000-a-week wages during his recovery period.

Frank Lampard - 2012

England had high hopes heading into Euro 2012, with Frank Lampard - fresh from a Champions League title - set to partner Steven Gerrard in the heart of midfield.

However, Lampard barely lasted a week in Poland before suffering a thigh injury in training.

Jordan Henderson was called up and Scott Parker went on to partner Gerrard for much of the tournament. Not that England stayed on much longer than Lampard - they were knocked out by Italy in the quarter-finals.

Theo Walcott - 2012

A player that saw his promising career plagued by injuries, both at club and country.

Walcott burst onto the Premier League scene as a teenager, quickly earning himself a move to Arsenal where he was coined the future of English football.

With bundles of pace and the end product to match, it seemed an 18-year-old Walcott would be a key figure in the England set-up for years to come.

He first received a call-up to the 2006 World Cup squad but wasn't given any game time. He had to wait until Euro 2012 until he appeared in a major tournament for the Three Lions because - you guessed it - injuries stopped him taking part in previous World Cups and European Championships.

However, even the lead up to Euro 2012 didn't go smoothly for the Arsenal winger, as he was stretchered off in a qualifier against Switzerland, leading to him being sidelined for over two months and missing seven Arsenal games.

Walcott never truly recovered from the injuries he suffered early in his career, leaving the winger with an average of 15 games missed every season.

Jack Butland - 2016

Back in 2016, Butland was dueling with Joe Hart for the England No.1 spot and the Stoke City goalkeeper was edging himself into the lead.

He was called up for the March internationals and featured for the Three Lions against Germany, but suffered an ankle injury that forced him off.

The injury kept Butland on the sidelines for over a year and the shot-stopper admitted he was left "fearing for his career" during his recovery.

Two failed operations failed to fix the stress fracture and he had to wait until the final five matches of the 2016/17 season to make his return.

Butland now struggles to get a game at Crystal Palace.

Joe Gomez - 2020

Fresh from Liverpool's Premier League title triumph in 2019, Joe Gomez was in the form of his career heading into 2020, starting regularly for the Reds and earning himself a place in the England squad.

Gomez received a call-up for the November internationals, and was among the favourites to start at centre-back.

But a day before a friendly against the Republic of Ireland, manager Gareth Southgate revealed that Gomez had suffered a "major knee injury", initially ruling him out for the remainder of the international break.

With Liverpool already without centre-back partner Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold through injury, it was a huge blow to Jurgen Klopp's side - even more so when it was revealed later that week that Gomez' injury was season-ending.

The 24-year-old ended up missing 39 games for Liverpool and is yet to return to his former heights since undergoing surgery.

Declan Rice - 2021

Another West Ham star who missed a large portion of the season through injury is Declan Rice, who was left in a leg brace after suffering a knee injury in April 2021.

The then-22-year-old was enjoying an extremely successful season with the Hammers, who were pressing in the Premier League for a top-four spot.

Rice was emerging as a leader in both the West Ham side as well as the England squad, where he was sjowing signs of nailing down a starting spot in midfield.

He was called up for the April World Cup qualifiers and earned himself a man-of-the-match award after impressing against Poland. However, on his return to the London Stadium, Rice was seen in a leg brace and crutches.

Scans showed he would not need surgery but the knee injury ruled him out for six matches. West Ham lost three of them and despite him returning for the final three matches of the season, the Hammers were unable to recover the ground lost, eventually finishing sixth.