England's preparations for their final two World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania have been hit by a string of injuries, with Crystal Palace defender Marc Guéhi and Newcastle United duo Anthony Gordon and Nick Pope all ruled out. Despite England having already secured qualification as group winners, these absences pose challenges for manager Gareth Southgate ahead of the matches at Wembley against Serbia next Thursday and in Tirana against Albania the following Sunday.

Marc Guéhi is a major doubt for the international fixtures due to a significant foot injury. Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner confirmed that Guéhi sustained a bone bruise in the closing stages of Thursday's 3-1 Conference League victory against Alkmaar. Glasner revealed, "Marc was fouled in the last minute against Alkmaar. It was a knock on his foot. A bone bruise. He can't even walk at the moment. The last two days he is on crutches." He added that it looks unlikely Guéhi, who has earned 26 caps for England since his 2022 debut, will be able to play for England.

Newcastle United will also see two of their players miss the England call-up due to injuries. Winger Anthony Gordon is suffering from a minor hip injury, which caused him to miss Newcastle's recent 3-1 defeat at Brentford. Goalkeeper Nick Pope was substituted during the same match due to a concussion, and will be sidelined in accordance with the 12-day concussion protocol. Newcastle boss Eddie Howe confirmed both players' unavailability, stating, "Nick Pope suffered concussion and that's why we took him off. As soon as we were made aware of that, he was withdrawn. He won't go with England. Anthony has a minor injury so he'll miss England."