John Stones, Fabian Delph, Ruben Loftus-Cheek Withdraw from England Squad

Manchester City duo John Stones and Fabian Delph have withdrawn from England's squad to face the Czech Republic and Montenegro along with Chelsea's Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

The FA announced on Monday the injured trio would play no part in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers, but Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse has been called up in their stead.

Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate will have 23 players to choose from in the two matches, which take place on Friday and the following Monday.

Although he initially left Ward-Prowse out of his initial selection, Southgate said he is an admirer of the 24-year-old, per Simon Peach of the Press Association:

Southgate's reasoning for excluding him seemed a little unfair since Ward-Prowse has completed 90 minutes in each of Southampton's last 11 Premier League matches and scored six goals in that time.

By contrast, Delph had played just 10 minutes of Premier League football since December 26, and Callum Wilson was selected just one game after his return from a knee injury that kept him out for six matches.

Ward-Prowse is now in the mix, though, and England may look to make use of his superb set-piece skills if he gets a chance in either of the two matches.

Meanwhile, City boss Pep Guardiola might be pleased with Stones' and Delph's withdrawal.

The pair won't be involved in the international break ahead of what is a hectic April schedule for the Sky Blues, per Goal's Sam Lee:

Per Goal's Guy Atkinson, Guardiola said City will need to make full use of their squad to cope with the workload:

"Everybody makes their own contribution and it has been massive. It's crazy, the fixtures in April. That's why you need everybody.

"The players that played good, incredible—they have to sustain that level. The players who need to increase, they have to improve because we need it. Everybody is going to play.

"Especially John, Kevin [De Bruyne] and Benjamin [Mendy]. All the players come back because we need everybody."

Having already won the Carabao Cup, City are still in the hunt for the league title, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League.

Despite facing Championship side Swansea City in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday, Guardiola still named a strong a side including Leroy Sane, David Silva and Bernardo Silva to lessen the risk of an upset.

City still found themselves 2-0 down at half-time, so Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero had to be called upon from the bench.  

Delph and Stones aren't difference-makers like Sterling or Aguero, but they can still play an important role in City's efforts during the run-in once they get back to fitness, the latter in particular.

England will have to cope without them, but with Delph and Loftus-Cheek out, there's less competition for Ward-Prowse in midfield, so he might get the opportunity to stake a claim for future call-ups if he impresses.