Joe Gomez revealed the aftermath of his bust-up with Raheem Sterling as the pair emerged for England training on Tuesday.
Gomez walked out alongside Liverpool team-mate Trent Alexander-Arnold as cameras picked up a scratch underneath the defender’s right eye.
Sterling followed shortly afterwards next to Atletico Madrid full back Kieran Trippier.
It came less than 24 hours after the decision was taken by England manager Gareth Southgate to axe him from the clash against Montenegro on Thursday night.
Sportsmail exclusively revealed on Monday night how Sterling had been withdrawn from the squad for the European Championship qualifier after he was involved in a bust-up with Gomez.
It is understood that Sterling attempted to grab Gomez by the neck following his arrival in the players’ canteen at England’s St George’s Park HQ.
Sterling was sat down in the canteen when Gomez arrived and leant over from behind to shake his hand, leading to him to attempt to grab his team-mate by the neck.
The rest of the England players initially thought Sterling was joking, but it soon became clear that he had lost control and the pair were separated.
The incident followed a confrontation between the two players during Liverpool’s victory over Manchester City in the Premier League at the weekend.
Sterling, who could be back in the England side for the game against Kosovo on Sunday, apologised to Gomez after Monday’s incident as well as the rest of the squad.
He used Instagram in the early hours of Tuesday to publicly explain himself.
‘We are in a sport where emotions run high and I am man enough to admit when emotions got the better of me,’ he wrote.
‘Both Joe and I have had words and figured things out and moved on.’
Southgate said he was disappointed that things got out of control, adding: ‘One of the great challenges and strengths for us is that we’ve been able to separate club rivalries from the national team.
‘Unfortunately the emotions of yesterday’s [Sunday] game were still raw.
‘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.’
