Mount and Chilwell sidelined until 28 June

Chelsea's Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell have been officially ruled out of England’s Euro 2020 clash with Czech Republic tonight, with their continued involvement in the rest of the tournament now hanging in the balance.

The pair had to self-isolate as a precaution after coming into close contact with Scotland midfielder and Chelsea team-mate Billy Gilmour – who has since tested positive for Covid-19 - on Friday night.

It has now been confirmed that neither Mount or Chilwell will be available for England’s final Group D game at Wembley, throwing a spanner in the works for Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate.

Mount and Chilwell are required to isolate up to and including Monday June 28, and will continue to train individually at St George’s Park.

Jude Bellingham is tipped to replace Mount against the Czechs tonight. 

The Three Lions have already qualified for the knockout phase of the Euros, and are set to play their last 16 fixture on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday depending on the result at Wembley tonight. Due to their period of isolation, Mount and Chilwell would only be available for that game if it were played on the Tuesday.

Fear of spreading the virus

Although the pair have both returned negative tests – along with the rest of the England camp – the concern is that the virus could be in its incubation period and that the Chelsea pair could potentially spread the virus through the squad if they were re-integrated too soon.

In a statement the FA said: “Chilwell and Mount will isolate and train individually in private areas at England’s training base St. George’s Park, with the squad returning there after tonight’s fixture against Czech Republic at Wembley.

“We will continue to follow all Covid-19 protocols and the UEFA testing regime, while remaining in close contact with PHE.

“The entire England squad and staff had lateral flow tests on Monday and all were again negative, as was the case with Sunday’s UEFA pre-match PCR tests.”

We can confirm that @BenChilwell and @masonmount_10 must isolate up to and including Monday 28 June. This decision has been taken in consultation with Public Health England.

— England (@England) June 22, 2021