Phil Jones pulls out of England squad after suffering injury in training

Manchester United defender Phil Jones has pulled out of England's squad to face Germany and Lithuania after suffering an injury during a training session. Jones will not travel with his national team to Dortmund ahead of the friendly with Die Mannschaft on Wednesday evening (22 March) and has returned to his club to receive treatment.

Jones' injury leaves England manager Gareth Southgate with a potential selection headache for Sunday's World Cup qualifier against Lithuania. Southgate is already without Chelsea defender Gary Cahill for the weekend's clash at Wembley Stadium due to suspension and is considering drafting in a replacement for the stricken Jones, who seemed to finally be over his injury woes.

John Stones, Michael Keane and Chris Smalling are all available for selection against Lithuania, while Cahill is able to feature against Germany on Wednesday. The Football Association did not reveal what the injury was and said in a statement that they are 'no immediate plans' to replace Jones, but Southgate, a former England centre-back himself, will assess his options.

Jones, who has impressed under Jose Mourinho at Manchester United this season, is the second man to pull out of the squad after West Ham United winger Michail Antonio withdrew on Monday. The 26-year-old picked up a hamstring problem during West Ham's 3-2 defeat by Leicester City.

Jones has had terrible luck with injuries in recent years but has managed to make 22 appearances for Manchester United this season. The former Blackburn Rovers youth starlet joined the Red Devils in the summer of 2011 for around £16m but has not fully fulfilled his early promise, with injuries playing a large part in his lack of progress.

Mourinho will not be best pleased with the news of Jones' injury and will hope the 25-year-old will be able to shake off the knock in time for Manchester United's clash with West Bromwich Albion on April 1.