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Football

04th Oct 2016

England fans devastated as star man Glen Johnson withdraws from national squad

How will they cope without him?

Tom Victor

We haven’t seen England football fans this upset since Luke Young retired from international duty.

Glen Johnson, the Stoke right-back who we definitely didn’t all assume had retired at the end of last season, has pulled out of the England squad through injury.

Johnson was a popular selection for the squad to face Malta and Slovenia, with many backing Gareth Southgate for making the right choice.

And supporters are distraught to see the *double-checks* Stoke man forced to pull out with injury.

https://twitter.com/Huuurrley/status/783223664724545536

https://twitter.com/sirnathaniel86/status/783223617622605824

There has been some speculation as to the nature of the injury, with apparent insiders and ITKs offering up their two cents.

https://twitter.com/Jamienicholas01/status/783227284954243072

https://twitter.com/AranNicolWHUFC/status/783228086095675393

And others are just grateful that Johnson’s the only one ruled out. After all, how could Southgate’s team cope if they lost another one of their star men?

Michael Keane has been called up as Johnson’s replacement, despite fans offering a wide range of alternatives to the Burnley man.

https://twitter.com/richardgribbin/status/783223694944600064

England face Malta on October 8 before travelling to Ljubljana for an away qualifier against Slovenia three days later.

Supporters are hoping the defender’s injury is only a short-term thing, however, and that he’ll be fit and firing in time to represent his country during the November international break.

https://twitter.com/IPheelz/status/783228684983500800

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