Liverpool star Gomez asked Southgate not to send Man City rival Sterling home from England squad after canteen bust-up
JOE GOMEZ reportedly asked Gareth Southgate not to send Raheem Sterling packing from the England camp after their bust-up.
The England duo clashed in the canteen and Sterling, who has since apologised, will miss the game against Montenegro on Thursday.
Southgate is fuming over the incident, which has disrupted his plans for this week's Euro qualifiers.
Sterling, who left Liverpool for Man City four years ago, reportedly tried to grab Gomez around the neck following their arrival in the players' canteen.
The pair had squared up to each other just hours before as the Reds beat their title rivals.
City flier Sterling issued a statement saying sorry for the row and insisting he and Gomez, 22, had buried the hatchet.
It read: "First and foremost everyone knows what that game means to me.
"Everyone knows that I am not that way inclined and more to the point. Both Joe and I have had words and figured things out and moved on.
"We are in a sport where emotions run high and I am man enough to admit when emotions got the better of me.
"We move this is why we play this sport because of our love for it.
"Me and @JoeGomez5 are good, we both understand it was a 5-10 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."