Armed Thugs Broke Into Raheem Sterling's Home, And Stole Watches Worth £300,000 While He Was Away In Qatar.

England forward, Raheem Sterling has left the team’s camp at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, with no decision made as to whether he will re-join his international team-mates in the tournament.

Sterling was expected to start in one of the front three positions for England as they look to reach the quarter-finals for the second time under Gareth Southgate.

But unfortunately, he was left out of the Three Lions squad for their 3-0 win over reigning African champions Senegal in the Round of 16 on Sunday night. 

The Football Association announced prior to the England vs Senegal last-16 kick-off match that Sterling would be absent and not be available for selection due to a “family matter”.

It was later reported after the match that armed intruders broke into his home while his family were inside, and the Chelsea player had flown back to London as soon as he received the news of the armed robbery, as he was concerned for the safety of his fiancee and kids.

According to The Scottish Sun, Sterling's fiancee Paige Milian raised the alarm when watches worth £300,000 were stolen. A source told the publication that police were at Sterling's home near Chelsea's Cobham training base for a number of hours.

SurreyPolice say There was “no threat of violence involved” in the burglary of  Sterling’s home. 

The 27-year-old Chelsea forward, had started both of England's first two games at the World Cup, scoring against Iran and completing 68 minutes against the United States.

"We will have to wait and see,” England manager Gareth Southgate told ITV after being asked whether Sterling would return to join the squad in Qatar. 

“He’s going home, yeah. I really don’t know because at the moment it’s a situation that he needs time with his family to deal with and I don’t want to put any pressure on him.

“At the moment, clearly the priority is for him to be with his family and we’re going to support that.

“We're going to allow him to have as much time as he needs," Southgate continued. 

“Sometimes football isn’t the most important thing and family should come first.”

Having received criticism for failing to select Phil Foden in his starting line-up in their goalless group game draw with the United States as his team struggled in front of goal, Southgate made the decision to pick 22-year-old Foden to start against Senegal, with Bukayo Saka named alongside the Manchester City forward and Harry Kane in England's front three due to Sterling's absence.

Man United's Marcus Rashford began the Senegal game on the bench, despite his starring, two-goal display against Wales.

England were able to cruise past Senegal and reach the last eight of the World Cup, and would now face their biggest challenge so far in this World Cup when they meet an unstoppable France team, who won the tournament in Russia 2018 and beat Poland 3-1 in their own last-16 tie.