England squad forced to move from St George's Park after stomach bug scare

The squad were due at the National Football Centre before the upcoming friendlies with Chile and Germany

The hotel reception at St Georges Park - A suspected stomach virus at St George's Park has resulted in some last-minute changes to arrangements for the England team and their under-21 counterparts (PA)

The Football Association was tonight forced to abandon plans to base Roy Hodgson's England squad at St George's Park this week after the year-old centre reported a stomach bug.

The squad were due to meet at the east Staffordshire base on Tuesday but will now go to the Grove, their pre-match hotel in Hertfordshire. Gareth Southgate's Under-21s squad were also moved out of St George's Park to a hotel off site.

The England squad will now train at London Colney, Arsenal's headquarters, pending agreement from the club.

In the previous international break, for the two final World Cup qualifiers, the England squad spent just two of its eight nights together at St George's Park.

In a statement, the FA said: "The FA has been advised of a suspected stomach virus that has been discovered on site at St. George's Park and affected a small number of visitors over the weekend.

"To date, the England Under-21 squad has not experienced any symptoms related to the virus. They have been on site since Sunday.

"However, as a precautionary measure, the U21s are moving hotels and the England senior team will now not meet at St. George's Park. Alternative accommodation and training arrangements have been made for both teams.

"This is an elite athlete precaution for the two senior teams. Normal operations continue for the SGP and hotel staff, customers and the public.

"To reiterate, these proactive steps have been taken by the FA as a precautionary measure."