Former Premier League winner hopes players put club before country before the Euros

Lee Dixon has chimed in on the club vs. country row after England's international break, which was dominated by injuries to key players. 

Gareth Southgate's side were without a number of high-profile names in the squad that took on Brazil and then Belgium, including captain Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka. There were also further withdrawals from Harry Maguire and Kyle Walker between the games, as club's look to protect their star assets as we head into the business end of the season. 

Talking to BetVictor, Dixon - who won 22 England caps - has spoken about the infamous club versus country debate and shared his hope that at this stage of the season players would choose their club priorites over an international friendly. 

“I hope there is a bias from players towards their club over England!” he said.

“It has happened since the game began. Clubs are always trying to protect their players and there is a balance between how you release players for international duties and how you manage their injuries.

“The managers will sit down with the players to see whether they’re okay to go and if the player wants to play for their country then they’ll let them.”

“Someone like Bukayo Saka plays every single second of every game so at some point, whether he’s injured or not, there will be an overload situation – you don’t always have to pull a hamstring or tear a muscle to be injured. You can be physically tired or have stress issues and you just need to have a rest.

“If Kyle Walker has felt even a tiny tweak in his hamstring then there is no point in carrying on, unless it is a major tournament or something like that. That is not the case here and he’s got a lot of football still to play for Manchester City.

"I don’t mind managers protecting players and it is all about getting the balance right.”

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