Mount and Chilwell out of Czech Republic clash after contact with Scotland's Billy Gilmour

22 June 2021, 11:52

Southgate not ruling isolating players out of Czech Republic game

Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell are out of England's European Championship clash with the Czech Republic after coming into contact with Scotland's Billy Gilmour, who tested positive for Covid-19.

The two players have been told they must self-isolate until the start of next week.

The Three Lions' preparations for Tuesday's final Group D match were thrown into chaos when it emerged that the Chelsea pair had been in contact with Gilmour.

Mount and Chilwell will now miss the pool decider at Wembley and could also miss England's last-16 match, with qualification assured but their place in the group up in the air.

The Football Association said in a statement: "We can confirm that Ben Chilwell and Mason Mount must isolate up to and including next Monday [28 June]. This decision has been taken in consultation with Public Health England.

"The pair were confirmed overnight as close contacts of Scotland's Billy Gilmour after his positive test following last Friday's match."

The statement continued: "Chilwell and Mount will isolate and train individually in private areas at England's training base St. George's Park, with the rest of the squad returning there after tonight's fixture against Czech Republic at Wembley.

"We will continue to follow all Covid-19 protocols and the UEFA testing regime, while remaining in close contact with PHE.

"The entire England squad and staff had lateral flow tests on Monday and all were again negative, as was the case with Sunday's UEFA pre-match PCR tests. Further tests will be carried out as and when appropriate."

Scotland dealt huge blow after Billy Gilmour tests positive for coronavirus

Gilmour was ruled out of Scotland's Euro 2020 showdown with Croatia after contracting the virus, the Scottish Football Association announced on Monday.

The 20-year-old impressed and was named man of the match in his first Scotland start on Friday as he helped the team earn a goalless draw against England at Wembley.

Last week's result leaves Steve Clarke's side still in with a shot at qualifying for the knock-out stages.

But Scotland have now received a major blow ahead of the must-win Croatia clash with the Chelsea player unavailable.

Whatever happens to England, the side has already qualified for the knockout stages thanks to Monday night's results in Groups B and C.

Southgate revealed the England players were subjected to additional testing on Monday as a precautionary measure following the Scotland outbreak.

He added: "In terms of the testing, we had the mandatory PCR tests for the pre-game, and we've just followed that up today because of the situation that's emerged with Scotland.

"It's just belt-and-braces to make sure we're OK for people to travel together and eat together."

An SFA statement read: "The Scottish FA can confirm that a member of the Scotland national team playing squad, Billy Gilmour, has tested positive for Covid-19.

"Having liaised with Public Health England since the positive test was recorded, Billy will now self-isolate for 10 days and therefore miss tomorrow's UEFA Euro 2020 Group D match against Croatia at Hampden."

Scotland must win the match at Hampden Park tomorrow to have any hope of making the last 16 in the tournament.