It has been confirmed that England forward Raheem Sterling will fly back to the UK to be with his family after armed intruders broke into his house. 

The Chelsea man was absent from England's squad in their 3-0 win against Senegal on Saturday (December 4) - with the reason given for his absence put down to 'family circumstances'.

However, it's since been confirmed that the reason for his absence was that armed intruders broke into his house - and he has left the England camp to be with his children.

A statement given to PA reads: "Raheem Sterling missed England’s World Cup win against Senegal after armed intruders broke into his house overnight while his family were there, the PA news agency understands.

"The Chelsea forward was absent from Gareth Southgate’s squad as they beat the Africa Cup of Nations champions 3-0 to set-up a quarter-final clash with France.

"Sterling’s absence is understood to have followed a break-in at his house on Saturday evening, leaving the England international understandably shaken and concerned about the well-being of his children."

Following England's win tonight, Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate cited the reasons for Sterling's absence, saying: “He’s dealing with a family matter so I had quite a bit of time with him this morning but I’ve now had to pass that on to other people to help him with that.”

When asked if he thought Sterling would figure at the tournament from here, Southgate said on ITV1: “We’ve got to wait and see.

“At the moment clearly the priority is for him to be with his family, and we’re going to support that and we’re going leave him to have as much time as he needs. He’s going home.”

He added: “I really don’t know (the likelihood of him returning) because at the moment it’s a situation that he needs time with his family and I don’t want to put him under any pressure with that. Sometimes football isn’t the most important thing and family should come first.”