England suffer first Euro 2024 casualty as Crystal Palace goalkeeper Sam Johnstone undergoes surgery
England have suffered their first casualty ahead of the Euros with Sam Johnstone ruled out of the tournament.
The goalkeeper pulled out of the squad this week after being called up by Gareth Southgate as a back-up choice to Jordan Pickford.
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And the Crystal Palace star will now undergo surgery on his elbow after injuring it in an accident in training, which resulted in him being replaced by Burnley's James Trafford.
The operation has subsequently ruled him out for the rest of the season.
Crucially for the ex-West Brom man, it will also see him miss the European Championships held in Germany this summer, talkSPORT understands.
It makes Johnstone the first England player to be ruled out of the tournament with injuries already hitting Southgate hard this month.
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Several players were injured during England's international break over the last week as well as Johnstone, including Harry Maguire, Kyle Walker and Harry Kane.
John Stones also trudged off early in the clash against Belgium on Tuesday night, giving Manchester City a headache ahead of their title clash against Arsenal on Sunday.
There had already been many injury problems before the international break with Luke Shaw, Kieran Trippier, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reece James, Tyrone Mings, Levi Colwill, Marc Guehi and Callum Wilson all moving out.
Johnstone had been earmarked as Southgate's preferred goalkeeper to play second-choice to Pickford over Aaron Ramsdale.
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The 31-year-old has impressed for Crystal Palace since signing last summer.
The shot-stopper had injured his elbow in training while saving a shot in a moment described as an 'accident'.
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Johnstone is reportedly devastated by the news and he will be out for up to four months.
The news will also come as a huge blow to Crystal Palace, who find themselves in trouble this season in the Premier League.
Roy Hodgson was replaced with by Oliver Glasner earlier this campaign with the Eagles currently sitting 14th in the table.
Dean Henderson is set to replace Johnstone between the sticks for Palace while Southgate will now need to decide on a new back-up goalkeeper.
Trafford was called up to the England squad to replace Johnstone this week after being promoted from the Under-21s.
But the Burnley ace has had a tough campaign for the Clarets so far while other potential options include Ramsdale being nodded up to second-choice, as well as Nick Pope if he can recover from injury himself.