Stephen Warnock slammed Gareth Southgate for his treatment of Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson whilst on international duty with England.
On Thursday, England recorded a hard-fought 2-1 win over Italy in Naples, with Gareth Southgate opting against bringing on Jordan Henderson, despite his team’s struggles, because the Liverpool captain was unwell.
Whilst the 32-year-old started the 2-0 win against Ukraine on Sunday, former left-back Warnock questioned just before yesterday’s match ‘why was he on the bench?’ and not resting for the midweek game if he was ill.
The last time Henderson was on the field of play for his club was March 11th when the Reds were beaten 1-0 at relegation-threatened, Bournemouth.
He didn’t make the trip to Madrid in the Champions League because he was ill and then Jurgen Klopp’s side weren’t in Premier League actions last weekend.
As reported by BBC journalist John Murray, that meant that Henderson didn’t train as much leading up to meeting up with England, hence Southgate’s call not to bring him on against Italy, but Stephen Warnock just couldn’t understand how the situation was handled, as he told BBC Radio 5 Live Sport (26/03/23).
John Murray: “We were perplexed the other night, why Henderson wasn’t coming on. He was warming up, but he wasn’t called upon. It was kind of explained afterwards and Gareth Southgate said that ‘he had been ill and he hadn’t gone to Madrid with Liverpool’, then he didn’t play the following weekend’.
“He said that ‘Henderson didn’t train much the following week, like the previous week England got together’ and he said that he was ‘undercooked’. But he is ‘okay for this match (Ukraine)’.”
Warnock responded: “Why is he on the bench, then?! If he isn’t there to be used! It worked in his favour because they got the result.
“It’s one of those, if he is still undercooked, and you do bring him on or you aren’t going to bring him on, then there is no point. You might as well leave him in the hotel to rest up completely.”
HENDERSON IMPRESSES DURING ENGLAND SHOWING
Whilst the hard-hitting midfielder has produced mixed results and performances alongside Liverpool in the Premier League this season, it was a strong showing from the player for his country on Sunday.
Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka combined to open the scoring at Wembley, before Henderson assisted the Arsenal winger, who curled in a stunning effort from outside the area to double his side’s lead – Gary Lineker applauded both players.
In the end, it was a strong showing from Henderson on the international stage, now it’s a case of bringing that back to Merseyside.
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