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Ollie Watkins sent home from England squad ahead of Latvia clash
Oct 13 2025 10:38 · By Emillia Hawkins/Emillia Hawkins
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THOMAS TUCHEL has ruled Ollie Watkins out of England's upcoming World Cup qualifier against Latvia.
The 29-year-old suffered a knock during the nation's 3-0 win against Wales on Thursday.
2 Ollie Watkins has been ruled out of England v Latvia Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
2 Watkins collided with the post just before half-time Credit: Alamy
He collided with a goalpost while sliding in to connect with a cross just six minutes before half-time.
The Aston Villa man was initially able to continue, but made way for Marcus Rashford at half-time.
Now, the striker has been sent home from camp just one day before England take on Latvia in a bid to secure World Cup qualification.
A statement from the national team read: "Ollie Watkins has been ruled out of England’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Latvia.
"The Aston Villa striker has not recovered from the knock sustained against Wales at Wembley on Thursday evening and has returned to his club.
"A squad of 22 will travel to Riga."
The news comes two days after Bayer Leverkusen defender Jarell Quansah withdrew from the match due to injury.
Watkins started for England against Wales last week, replacing Harry Kane who missed out with a knock.
He scored in the 11th minute with a tap-in after capitalising on some poor defending from the Dragons.
Morgan Rogers opened the scoring after just three minutes at Wembley.
And Bukayo Saka scored the third of the night with a stunning curled strike into the top-left corner.
England captain Kane is expected to return to the starting line-up on Tuesday after recovering from his injury.