Alex Pritchard forced to withdraw from England U21 camp

England's Alex Pritchard has been ruled out of the remainder of the U21 European Championships after damaging his ankle ligaments and will fly home from the Czech Republic later in the week.

The Football Association have confirmed that his tournament is over and he is set to leave the England camp after his side’s final group game against Italy on Wednesday.

Competition rules state that no replacement player can be called into a squad after a team’s first match in the final tournament and Gareth Southgate will have just 22 players to chose from for Wednesday's decider.

Pritchard had to be carried off the pitch during England’s 1-0 win over Sweden and later left the ground on crutches with his right foot in a protective boot however according to Sky sources he is expected to return for Tottenham's pre-season despite the damage to his ankle ligaments.

Pritchard took to Twitter to reveal his disappointment but wished his team-mates the best of luck for the rest of the tournament.

He said: "Disappointed to be ruled out of the @UEFAUnder21 but will come back stronger. Wish all the boys the best of luck."

The 22-year-old attacker is facing three to four weeks on the sidelines and the results of the scan will come as a relief to both Pritchard and Spurs, after Sky Sports revealed in May that he will be a fully-integrated member of the first-team squad next season.

Pritchard, who thrived on a season-long loan with Championship Brentford last season, is in talks over a new four-year deal with with the club.

Having impressed as a substitute in the defeat to Portugal, the 22-year-old was handed a starting berth in the Young Lions' must-win clash with Sweden and turned in an excellent display before he had to be removed after 55 minutes.

England U21 boss Gareth Southgate admitted it "didn't look very good" for Pritchard.

Losing the diminutive attacker is a further blow for an England side already robbed of top scorer Saido Berahino through a knee injury.

The West Brom forward was replaced in the squad by Wolves' Benik Afobe, while John Stones missed the opening two games with suspected concussion.

The Everton defender trained with his England team-mates on Monday and is set to start against Italy.