John Stones misses England training through illness four days before their Euro 2024 opener, as stern-looking stars get serious to prepare for Serbia

England’s preparations for their Euro 2024 opener against Serbia on Sunday have been disrupted, with John Stones set to miss training due to an illness. 

The Three Lions trained for the first time in Germany on Tuesday after arriving at their base at the Weimarer Land Spa and Golf Resort on the outskirts of Blankenhain. 

Southgate was handed a double boost with the participation of  Luke Shaw and Stones, who was substituted at half-time in the side’s final warm-up friendly after picking up a knock in the early exchanges.

But the Manchester City defender has now been forced to sit out Wednesday’s session because of an illness. 

The 30-year-old is one of five central defenders selected by the England boss for the tournament but he is by far the most important to the success of the side, especially after long-time international partner Harry Maguire was omitted from the squad due to injury. 

The Three Lions are ramping up preparations for their tournament opener against Serbia on Sunday

Jude Bellingham (right) and Harry Kane (left) cut serious figures at England training on Wednesday

The 30-year-old’s absence is less than ideal for England boss Gareth Southgate whose side is already stretched in the centre-back position

Stones has himself endured a fairly frustrating campaign on the injury front. He started only 12 games in the Premier League for City last term, having experienced a hip issue at the start of the term.

Stones was an unused substitute in seven of City’s last 10 league games and failed to make the squad altogether in another. Despite that patchy involvement at club level, he remains irreplaceable for the national team. 

England star’s looked far more serious as they took to the training pitches on Wednesday, only four days away from the crunch match at the Veltins-Arena. 

Tuesday’s training session saw Shaw kicking a ball for the first time in five months and thus strengthened hopes he may be available to be named in the squad to face Denmark next Thursday. 

Shaw didn’t complete the full session and was a peripheral figure during the closing stages of training.

Nevertheless, his participation in Tuesday’s full session is viewed as another positive step towards his recovery. The Manchester United defender was again part of the group on Wednesday.

Kieran Trippier is set to deputise at left-back for Shaw for the start of the tournament.

Veteran Man United goalkeeper Tom Heaton (middle right) has been drafted in to help with training. 

Meanwhile, veteran Red Devils goalkeeper Tom Heaton was pictured alongside the three stoppers in the squad. The 38-year-old was a late inclusion to the group in a quasi-coaching capacity. 

The former Burnley star has been capped three times for England, with his last appearance coming in a 3-2 friendly win over France in 2017.

Heaton was included in England’s Euro 2016 squad but failed to get any minutes ahead of the Three Lions’ shock round of 16 defeat by Iceland.