Raheem Sterling jets home from World Cup as 'thugs break into house with kids inside'

Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling has chosen to return home from England's World Cup squad after his Surrey home was reportedly broken into by armed intruders on Saturday night

Posted Monday, December 05, 2022 by Dailystar.co.uk

Raheem Sterling's Surrey home was reportedly broken into by armed intruders on Saturday night - which has forced him to leave England's World Cup squad in Qatar.

The Chelsea forward had played a key role in Gareth Southgate's plans but was left out of the squad for the last 16 win over Senegal for family reasons.

With the manager saying that Sterling had returned the UK to deal with the incident, it has now been reported that burglars smashed into his home overnight while his partner and children were present.

The Sun report that burglars smashed into Sterling's Surrey home overnight before the fixture, with the decision taken for him to return to England shortly after.

Sterling is in a long term relationship with Paige Milian, and has three children with whom he celebrated a number of England's victories at Euro 2020.

Southgate refused to confirm whether Sterling would return to Qatar from the UK, but he remains eligible to play against France on December 10.

After a spokesperson for the FA said Sterling would not feature, a statement read: "Raheem Sterling is not available for selection for the #ThreeLions tonight as he is dealing with a family matter."

Gareth Southgate said: "He's dealing with a family matter. I had quite a bit of time with him this morning but I have now had to pass that on to other people to help him with that.

"He's going to go and deal with that matter. And then we will have to take it from there really."

Raheem Sterling has gone home to be with Paige Milian and their children

Sterling had played a vital role in England's route to the final of Euro 2020 last year, becoming a key player for his country since Southgate's arrival in 2016.

Sterling has scored 20 goals across his 81 appearances for England since his debut way back in 2012, 16 of which have came over the past four years.

Southgate had shown faith in the forward by handing him a start against Iran despite his indifferent Chelsea form since his summer move to Manchester City, which he repaid with his early goal.