Gareth Southgate slams supposed club row as 'nonsense' as he prepares England squad for Germany friendly

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Gareth Southgate has dismissed talk of a club versus country row as he prepares his depleted England squad for Friday's friendly against Germany.

Tottenham trio Dele Alli, Harry Kane and Harry Winks were forced out of the initial 25-man squad with respective injuries, and Raheem Sterling, Fabian Delph and Jordan Henderson later followed. 

Kane withdrew from the squad on Monday after taking a knock during Spurs' win over Crystal Palace last weekend, but questions were asked about the severity of his injury when Mauricio Pochettino said he would be fit for next weekend's north London derby against Arsenal.

Gareth Southgate has calmed all talk of a club feud after numerous England squad withdrawals

'We've had to change plans because there was so much uncertainty coming in but we've got the players we've got and I've really enjoyed the week,' Southgate said.

'New players coming in - it's a great opportunity for us to look at them.'

Asked if he was satisfied that all the players who had withdrawn were genuinely injured, Southgate said: 'Yes, absolutely.

Southgate has seen Harry Kane withdraw from international duty ahead of the Germany clash

Tottenham team-mate Dele Alli will be reduced to another appearance in the Wembley stands

'Harry Kane - I knew he was in trouble because he stayed down - Harry Kane doesn't stay down.

'Both him and Harry Winks were scanned, our medical department reviewed, and there is no way they're available for our two games. Spurs might risk them for the Arsenal game, that's a different matter.

'I hear this talk of club v country - it's nonsense. They are injured and they can't play.'

In late March England played Germany in Dortmund and that friendly match was marred by offensive chants about the World Wars from a section of visiting supporters.

Ahead of the latest meeting between the nations, Southgate condemned the rogue fans responsible for the songs and praised Germany for deciding to pay their own respects by wearing black armbands bearing poppies.

While Southgate insists he has no quarrels with club managers after supposed row

'I think it's completely unacceptable,' the England boss said of the chants in March. 'We have a huge percentage of fans who follow us away but there was an element shouting things that night that were unacceptable.

'We're talking about individuals. The vast majority of the supporters are brilliant.

'I think Germany have taken a huge step in terms of agreeing to wear the poppy.'

John Stones is excited about the double-header against two of the world's best teams, with Friday's opponents boasting two of his Manchester City team-mates in Leroy Sane and Ilkay Gundogan.

John Stones relishes clash with Manchester City team-mates Leroy Sane and Ilkay Gundogan

'You always want to play with the best and play against the best, to test yourself at your maximum capability,' the centre half added.

'It always helps to have a bit of insight into how those players work. Bringing two world-class teams to Wembley is going to be great for the fans and a great opportunity for the players.

'We've done our research on Germany but we don't want to over-analyse. It's about working hard on the training pitch and that's where the valuable time is spent.

'Whoever we come up against, we can go into the game knowing that we trained for it.'