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Liverpool’s promising 19-year-old winger Jordon Ibe has today withdrawn from the England U20 squad due to a knee injury. While Liverpool fans will be glad to see the cautious approach, it has been reported that Ibe injured his knee ahead of Sunday’s season finale against Stoke City and re-aggravated it when he was brought on in the second half of a dispiriting 6-1 drubbing.
Ibe had been expected to be a major contributor for England at the invite-only Toulon Hopefuls’ Tournament, a yearly event run outside the auspices of FIFA involving two groups of five, a round robin stage, and a finals between the two group winners. England are favourites to advance from a Group B comprising Ivory Coast, Mexico, Morocco, and China. France and Netherlands are Group A favourites.
The tournament kicks off on Wednesday, and England are scheduled to kick off their opener on Thursday against Morocco. Ibe has been replaced by Derby County’s Kwame Thomas. The injury is not expected to impact Ibe's preparations for next season, and he may still be called up for the Under-21 European Championships this summer that kick off on June 17th.
