England vs Czech Republic: Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell doubts after Chelsea pair forced to isolate

Tom Doyle21 June 2021

Gareth Southgate is unsure whether Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell will be available for England’s Euro 2020 cruch clash against the Czech Republic after the pair were forced to isolate.

Having opened Group D by beating World Cup semi-final foes Croatia, the Three Lions were held to a 0-0 draw by their oldest rivals at Wembley on Friday evening.

Following that game, Billy Gilmour has since tested positive for Covid-19 - and England have been rocked by the news that Mount and Chilwell are having to isolate after coming into contact with their Chelsea team-mate at Wembley.

Southgate’s men are on the cusp of qualification for the last-16, but the absence of Mount in particular could make things more difficult for the Three Lions against a Czech side who currently sit top of the group on goal difference.

Asked if the pair will be fit for Tuesday’s game, Southgate said: “We don’t know at the moment.

The FA via Getty Images

“There’s obviously got to be quite a doubt but there’s still a lot of discussions and investigations going on behind the scenes, so at the moment they’re isolating and we just have to find out over the last 12 hours or so.”

Southgate revealed the England players were subjected to additional testing on Monday as a precautionary measure following the Scotland outbreak.

“In terms of the testing, we had the mandatory PCR tests for the pre-game, and we’ve just followed that up today because of the situation that’s emerged with Scotland,” he said.

“It’s just belt-and-braces to make sure we’re OK for people to travel together and eat together.”

Southgate admitted that, while he still hoped Mount and Chilwell could be available for the game against the Czechs, there was also the prospect of them being ruled out for a longer period.

He added: “I can’t say it isn’t disruptive. We don’t really know at this point whether they might be OK for tomorrow, or they could be out for 10 days.

“So there are a lot of unknowns at this moment in time.”

Additional reporting by PA.

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