England are heading to Euro 2024 without one of their most experienced players in Jordan Henderson.
The Three Lions begin their campaign in Germany this Sunday evening as they take on Serbia looking to kick things off with a win.
Gareth Southgate has taken his 26-man squad to the tournament with the Three Lions one of the major favourites to go all the way.
Harry Kane is captain once again and he leads a young and exciting team into the competition, with experience at a minimum.
That hasn’t usually been the case for England, however, as some big decisions were made to give a new generation of players an opportunity.
Why isn’t Henderson at Euro 2024?
Former Liverpool star Henderson was left out of Southgate’s squad for the tournament in Germany.
The ex-Premier League and Champions League-winning captain with the Reds was not selected for England’s 33-man long-list and thus missed out on the final 26-player party.
After playing a key role in previous tournaments, including Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup, he was left at home this time around.
Henderson joined Ajax in January but has since played only 12 games, missing a month through injury suffered at an England camp.
And Southgate has explained that that issue played a big part in his decision to leave the 33-year-old out of his team.
2
“He is a fantastic professional and it was a difficult call to make,” the Three Lions boss said.
“He’ll be a miss. He’s an exceptional individual and a fantastic human being.
“The determining factor is the injury he picked up in the last camp.
“He missed five weeks and he just hasn’t been able to get to the intensity [we need] in the games since then.”
Instead, youngsters Kobbie Mainoo and Adam Wharton are going to be at Euro 2024 with Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice, Conor Gallagher and Trent Alexander-Arnold all playing in midfield too.
Henderson was one of many big names left behind by England, as Jack Grealish, James Maddison and Harry Maguire all failed to make the squad.