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England manager Gareth Southgate has backed Raheem Sterling's decision to leave the camp and head home in the middle of the FIFA World Cup. He claimed that the forward had to support his family following the robbery at their home.
Sterling's home was robbed last week while nobody from his family was at home. Jewelry and watches were stolen from the Surrey home of the England footballer, along with other items.
The Chelsea winger was shaken by the incident and was not part of the squad that beat Senegal 3-0 in the Round of 16 clash. He flew back to the UK earlier this week and later returned to rejoin the squad. Southgate has slammed the criticism faced by the forward and said:
"He has felt the need to support his family and to be there for his family and that is a simple decision for me – I have to support the player. I remember Fabian Delph going home, his wife was expecting in Russia we did the same thing. There are moments for every individual where family becomes most important. I'm always supportive of that."
He added:
"Of course I want the best players available and want to win football matches but as a manager you have to recognise there are certain moments in people's lives that are more important at that particular time."
The FA confirm England star is back in FIFA World Cup squad
Raheem Sterling was given permission to return to England by the FA earlier this week following a robbery at his home.
They later confirmed that he will be rejoining the squad on Friday and released a statement:
"The Chelsea forward temporarily left to attend to a family matter but is now expected to rejoin the squad in Al Wakrah on Friday (9 December) ahead of the quarter-final with France."
Speaking about the possibility of Sterling playing for England against France in the quarterfinals, Southgate said:
"We will have to assess that. He has missed a lot of training and had two long flights. That is not good preparation for a game of this standard but let's see how he is."
Sterling has scored once and assisted as many times at the FIFA World Cup this year.
