Ben White leaves England’s World Cup squad and returns home for ‘personal reasons’

White is not expected to return to the tournament in Qatar

Wednesday 30 November 2022 18:56 GMT

Ben White pictured in England training in Qatar (Getty Images)

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England defender Ben White has returned home from the World Cup after deciding to leave the tournament for “personal reasons”.

White did not play in any of England’s three group games and he was ruled unavailable for the final match against Wales on Tuesday night.

An FA statement read: “Ben White has left England’s training base in Al Wakrah and returned home for personal reasons. The Arsenal defender is not expected to return to the squad for the remainder of the tournament. We ask that the player’s privacy is respected at this moment in time.”

White has enjoyed an impressive start to the Premier League season with Arsenal, who sit top of the table, and did enough to earn himself a place in Gareth Southgate’s squad.

His absense will leave England one player lighter for the rest of the tournament but central defence is a position of relative depth for Southgate, with first-choice pairing of John Stones and Harry Maguire backed up by Tottenham defender Eric Dier and Everton’s Conor Coady.