Joe Gomez showed up at England's open training on Tuesday with a scratch under his right eye after an altercation with Raheem Sterling, after which the latter was dropped for Thursday's Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro.
The Daily Mail reported that Liverpool defender Joe Gomez and Sterling had to be separated by teammates on Monday after a "physical confrontation." The pair had also clashed on the field towards the end of Sunday's match.
The Guardian reported that England coach Gareth Southgate want to send Sterling home after the clash but after intervention of the English players, Sterling stayed with the squad.
The report also stated that Liverpool man Jordan Henderson, who is not part of the squad due to suspension, contacted Southgate lobbying for Sterling to not be dropped.
Southgate reportedly did not witness the altercation but was informed of the incident after the squad met up at St. George's Park.
Sterling later admitted that "emotions got the better" of him.
"Both Joe and I have had words and figured things out and moved on," Sterling said in an Instagram post.
"We are in a sport where emotions run high and I am man enough to admit when emotions got the better of me.
"This is why we play this sport because of our love for it -- me and Joe Gomez are good, we both understand it was a five to 10-second thing... it's done, we move forward and not make this bigger than it is.
"Let's get focus on our game on Thursday," Sterling added.