Raheem Sterling is leaving England’s World Cup squad in Qatar to return to London after armed intruders burst into his home while his family were inside.
Coach Gareth Southgate confirmed the news after Sunday’s 3-0 Round of 16 win over Senegal.
“Sometimes football isn’t the most important thing and family has to come first,” Southgate said.
It is understood that the incident happened on Saturday evening. Sterling has three young children.
“We want to give it that space and we’ll see over the next few days how that develops,” Southgate added.
Speaking after the game against Senegal, Sterling’s team-mate Declan Rice said: “I saw him at breakfast this morning and then the manager said he was having difficulties at home, we So we all sent him a message.”
Two years ago, three burglars who targeted a number of homes in the North West of England, including an attempted break-in at Sterling’s home in Cheshire in November 2018, were imprisoned.
The 27-year-old Chelsea striker started and scored in England’s 6-2 win over Iran in their opening group game before being called up again for the 0-0 draw with United States.
Southgate instead opted to play Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden either side of Harry Kane for England’s 3-0 win over Wales.
The England manager has often relied on Sterling at major tournaments; he started all seven of England’s appearances at Euro 2020.
