Tammy Abraham was among the top five scorers in Serie A last season (Picture: Getty)
Gareth Southgate has explained his decision to snub Tammy Abraham as he named his England squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar on Thursday.
Roma striker Abraham was among the top five scorers in Serie A last season and helped Jose Mourinho’s side win the Europa Conference League.
The 25-year-old moved to the Italian club from Chelsea last year and has scored 20 goals across 51 top-flight games.
But he has struggled for form so far in the 2022-23 campaign and despite registering 11 caps for the Three Lions, Southgate has decided not to include Abraham in his 26-man squad.
The England boss instead named Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson in his squad, as well as Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford, who will likely be back-ups for main man Harry Kane.
Explaining his decision to snub Abraham, Southgate said: ‘Tammy’s had a poor run of scoring form at the wrong time, really, and it’s not a case of that we are three or four weeks away from a finals and the start of the first match.
‘We are now 10 days away so form could be more important. We are watching their club form, but we don’t really know where the players are until we see them face-to-face and until we see them on the training pitch.
‘We get regular medical updates from their clubs but there will be medical issues that we are not completely aware of yet.
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‘We know the form we are seeing in the matches, but even so, you still don’t get the full picture from the players until you are able to speak to them, work with them and see how they train with each other.’
England’s first match of the 2022 World Cup comes on November 21 when they face Iran.
The Three Lions then lock horns with the United States on November 25 before a British battle with Wales on November 29.
MORE : Jose Mourinho says Roma star ‘betrayed’ his teammates and will be sold in January
MORE : England boss Gareth Southgate explains U-turn over James Maddison’s World Cup inclusion
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‘Form could be more important…’
