By Tom Gott
A "devastated" Harry Maguire has admitted he was simply not fit enough to go to Euro 2024 with England this summer.
Maguire was left out of Gareth Southgate's final 26-man squad for the tournament alongside Jack Grealish, James Maddison, Curtis Jones, Jarell Quansah, Jarrad Branthwaite and James Trafford, having found himself unable to train with the team as a result of a calf injury.
"I am devastated not to have been selected to play for England at the Euros this summer," Maguire wrote on social media. "Despite my best efforts, I have not been able to overcome an injury to my calf. Maybe I pushed myself too hard, to try and make it. Simply, I am absolutely gutted.
"For me, representing England is the highest honour. It means everything to me. If I can’t help the team as a player, I will support them as a fan – along with the rest of the country. Go and win it boys.
"Next, I will return to the supervision of the Manchester United medical team in order to prepare for next season."
Southgate was keen to recognise Maguire's importance to England as he reiterated the reason for the 31-year-old's surprise omission.
"Harry has made some progress, but it's been complicated and we wouldn't have had him in the group stages," Southgate explained. "There were too many hurdles to get through without being clear where we might get to.
"Knowing we haven't got a clean bill of health across the rest of the backline, we need players who are fit and ready to go from the start.
"It was a really difficult call, you know how I feel about Harry, what he's done for England and for me as a manager. It's a slightly different case to [Grealish and Maddison], but it's no easier.
"The decision on Harry [Maguire] is totally about his physical condition and his recovery from the injury. There is no other reason as he is one of our strongest centre-backs."
This article was originally published on 90min.com as Harry Maguire speaks out as Gareth Southgate explains shock omission from England squad.
