England international set to miss Euro 2020 after knee surgery – originally posted on Sportslens.com
Nick Pope is set to undergo minor knee surgery which will keep him out of this summer’s European Championships, reports the Athletic.
Pope has been one of Burnley’s standouts over the last couple of seasons. He finished as the runner-up in the Golden Glove in the 2019/20 season, keeping 15 clean sheets.
This form has earned him several call ups to the England national team, and he has made seven appearances in total for the Three Lions. He was expected to be in Gareth Southgate’s squad for Euro 2020.
However, the 29-year-old will now miss the tournament due to surgery on his knee, reports the Athletic.
What does this mean for Euro 2020?
Many have been calling for Pope to start, but Southgate has often trusted Jordan Pickford in his first XI. During the last international break, the Everton man was injured, and Pope started in the World Cup qualifiers against San Marino, Albania, and Poland. This suggests that he is first in line to replace Pickford should he be sidelined.
This responsibility will now likely fall to Manchester United’s Dean Henderson, who made his international debut against Republic of Ireland in a friendly back in November.
But the question remains over who the third choice goalkeeper will be. West Bromwich Albion’s Sam Johnstone is seemingly leading the race to be in the squad, as he was called up last March in Pickford’s absence.
Another candidate for the position could be Sheffield United stopper Aaron Ramsdale. The 23-year-old has played 34 times for the England youth teams, and has performed admirably this term despite the Blades’ relegation.
Read also: Everton’s Ben Godfrey could make England Euros squad ahead of Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold