England hit by FIVE injury worries ahead of Serbia clash

GARETH SOUTHGATE is reportedly sweating over the fitness of FIVE England stars ahead of his side’s Euro opener against Serbia.

The Three Lions kick off their adventure at the tournament on Sunday, just nine days after a dismal 1-0 friendly defeat to Iceland at Wembley.

Southgate stunned fans by picking a relatively inexperienced and young Euros squad while leaving out big names  such as Jack Grealish, James Maddison and Harry Maguire.

And he could be forced to field newbies including Anthony Gordon, Cole Palmer and Eberechi Eze sooner than expected amid questions over the fitness of five England regulars.

The Telegraph claims Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka, John Stones and Luke Shaw will all need to be checked ahead of the Serbia match.

The quintet are key players in Southgate’s starting XI when fit.

And their absences would be a huge blow as England look to start the Euros with a bang.

Bellingham missed the friendlies against Iceland and Bosnia & Herzegovina after leading Real Madrid to Champions League glory at the start of the month.

While Foden was a shadow of his former self at Wembley on Friday despite playing the whole 90 minutes.

Saka managed just half an hour from the bench after missing the last month with injury.

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And Stones was hauled off at half-time after picking up a knock to his ankle.

As for Shaw, he was absent altogether after featuring just 15 times for Man United this season and looks certain to miss out against Serbia.

It means Kieran Tripper will start at left-back on Sunday.

And should the other four stars also be sidelined, it will leave Southgate with a selection dilemma.

Lewis Dunk, Ezri Konsa and Joe Gomez will battle for a place alongside Marc Guehi at centre-back.

While Chelsea star Palmer is the obvious candidate to replace Bellingham as Southgate’s No10.

Anthony Gordon and Eberechi Eze have both looked sharp on the left in recent games.

And Jarrad Bowen could be a shoe-in for Saka on the right.

However, Trent Alexander-Arnold is expected to get the nod in midfield alongside Declan Rice.

That’s despite the presence of Conor Gallagher, as well as impressive youngsters Kobbie Mainoo and Adam Wharton.

And it also shows the U-turn Alexander-Arnold has performed under Southgate, having previously been a fringe player for England.

A source told the Telegraph: “A lot can change, obviously, but Trent was given the No8 shirt for a reason.”