Raheem Sterling has admitted he was in the wrong having been dropped for England’s Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro following a clash with team-mate Joe Gomez.
The forward is understood to have tried to grab the defender by the neck following his arrival at St George’s Park on Monday, just a day after they squared up on the pitch during Manchester City’s 3-1 victory over Liverpool.
Sterling has been axed from the team as a result with the Football Association confirming he has been dropped "as a result of a disturbance in a private team area".
The City star has been quick to make a statement on the incident and took to Instagram on Tuesday morning.
“First and foremost everyone knows what that game means to me!” he told his 6.2million followers.
“Everyone knows that I am not that way inclined and more to the point, both Joe and I have had words and figured things out and moved on. We are in a sport where emotions run high and I am man enough to admit when emotions got the better of me.
“This is why we play this sport because of our love for it - me and @joegomez5 are good, we both understand it was a 5-10 second thing it’s done we move forward and not make this bigger than it is.
“Let’s get focus on our game on Thursday.”
While Sterling will miss Thursday’s game against Montenegro, the Daily Mail reports he will remain with the squad and could feature against Kosovo on Sunday.
Gareth Southgate, who has garnered a real togetherness and team spirit in the Three Lions camp, guiding his side to the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2018, said: "Unfortunately the emotions of yesterday's game were still raw.
"One of the great challenges and strengths for us is that we've been able to separate club rivalries from the national team.
"We have taken the decision to not consider Raheem for the match against Montenegro on Thursday. My feeling is that the right thing for the team is the action we have taken.
"Now that the decision has been made with the agreement of the entire squad, it's important that we support the players and focus on Thursday night."
England, who will play their 1000th senior international this week, will qualify for next summer’s Euros with a victory.
With the top two nationals going through, Southgate’s side are currently three points ahead of the Czech Republic and four ahead of third-placed Kosovo.
