England star becomes 10TH player to withdraw from Lee Carsley’s squad ahead of crucial Ireland clash

England star Ezri Konsa has returned to Aston Villa after suffering defeat in the Three Lions' clash with Greece, making him the tenth player to withdraw from the squad this week.

The build-up to Thursday's crucial Nations League Group B match has been tumultuous, with nine members of the squad withdrawing in a mass exodus, adding unwanted new fuel to the debate between club and country.

The makeshift England team responded in style to dispatch the group leaders 3-0 in Athens thanks to strikes from Ollie Watkins and Curtis Jones either side of an own goal.

Winning so emphatically this week puts the Three Lions in pole position for their final group match against Ireland on Sunday.

But Lee Carsley's side suffered another blow after Aston Villa defender Konsa became the latest player to withdraw from the squad after picking up an injury during Thursday's win.

The centre-back put in a confident performance in the heart of the Athens defense but was substituted at half-time and the score was 1-0.

There has been no word yet on a possible replacement for the 27-year-old ahead of tomorrow afternoon's clash at Wembley.

He joins Aaron Ramsdale, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Levi Colwill, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer, Jack Grealish, Jarrad Branthwaite and Phil Foden in withdrawing from the squad since the announcement last week.

England opened the scoring inside six minutes when his teammate Watkins smashed home the ball from close range after some neat play on the right.

The Three Lions doubled their lead after the break when Jude Bellingham's long-range effort hit the post before ricocheting off the keeper and into the net.

Jones rounded off the win with a neat finish on the heels of a pass from Morgan Gibbs-White.

Speaking to ITV Sport, Jones was then asked about 'making an impression' on the day, where he revealed the secret of what helped his performance.

He said: “The boys in the area helped too. I just went out and played freely. I had a smile on my face, I enjoyed it and I'm happy I came away with a goal.

“When you have a team like ours, I can get high, I can get low, I can get on the ball and play – there are guys there to help. Jude stayed behind so I had a chance and luckily I scored.”

Konsa's injury comes after the centre-back damaged a hamstring following a challenge from Rasmus Hojlund early in Villa's 0-0 draw with Manchester United last month and was immediately substituted.

This meant he was forced to withdraw too much from the England squad in October, ahead of the Three Lions' disappointing defeat to Greece at Wembley.

A few weeks later he returned to Unai Emery's resurgent side for the match against Bournemouth, having only missed the 3–1 win over Fulham.

Furthermore, Konsa has been a mainstay for Villa this season, playing every minute of their remarkable Champions League group stage, including the memorable 1-0 win over Bayern Munich.

He moved to the Villans from Brentford in 2019 and has since made 202 appearances for the side.