England handed Declan Rice concern ahead of France quarter-final

The 23-year-old has started all four games for Gareth Southgate's side in Qatar so far, helping his side top Group B before a 3-0 last-16 win over Senegal at the weekend.

Rice formed an effective midfield pairing with Kalvin Phillips during England's run to the Euro 2020 final and has since linked arms with Jude Bellingham as the Manchester City man recovers from shoulder surgery.

Jordan Henderson has also joined mainstay Rice in the middle of the park for England's last two World Cup matches, but Southgate has now been handed a slight concern over the latter.

As reported by The Athletic, Rice was unable to train on Wednesday due to an unspecified illness, just three days before England are due to meet the reigning world champions.

Rice's virus is not thought to be a serious one, and he is still expected to recover in time to take part in Saturday's quarter-final, but his absence is far from ideal for Southgate.

The former Chelsea youngster has recorded two goals in 38 caps for England and has played the full 90 minutes in three of their four World Cup matches, coming off just before the hour mark in their final Group B win over Wales.

Rice was one of four players from the original 26-man squad not to take part in Wednesday's training session, with Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson still nursing a minor strain.

However, Wilson has only played 47 minutes in two substitute outings at the World Cup and was never expected to challenge captain Harry Kane for a spot in the final third.

Meanwhile, Raheem Sterling flew back to the UK at the weekend after learning of a break-in at his Surrey home, and it is unclear if the Chelsea attacker will return to the England camp.

Police investigating the robbery have arrested two men on suspicion of attempted burglary at a separate property and are trying to establish whether the incident had any links to the break-in at Sterling's residence.

Finally, Arsenal defender Ben White left the camp last week due to personal reasons and is not expected to return to the Middle East for the latter stages of the World Cup, and he was also left out of the Gunners' squad for their trip to Dubai.

England will be aiming to make the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the 10th time when they battle Didier Deschamps's side on Saturday, and the reigning champions have also been handed a scare of their own with Kylian Mbappe.

The Paris Saint-Germain striker, who is the top scorer at the tournament with five goals, did not take part in full training on Tuesday due to ankle discomfort, although he is still expected to lead the line for Les Bleus at the Al Bayt Stadium.