England hit by Saido Berahino blow

England Under-21s have been hit by the news Saido Berahino has been forced to pull out of the European Championships because of a knee injury.

The West Bromwich Albion striker played a crucial role in helping England make it to the finals in Czech Republic and the news is a bitter pill for boss Gareth Southgate to swallow.

The full extent of the damage has yet to be revealed, but it is bad enough to force him to return home on the eve of England’s opening Group B game against Portugal.

“It’s a great personal disappointment for Saido,” Southgate said.

“He’s very conscious of it not affecting the team and we’re personally disappointed for him because he’s been with us from the very first game, scored our first goal and has been a huge part of the reason why we’re here.

“It’s a great shame he won’t be able to finish the job.

“For us, it’s important that we move on and the rest of the group respond and react in the right way as they have done throughout the competition.”

Wolves striker Benik Afobe has been called up to the squad but will not be available until the final group games against Sweden and Italy.

England are priced at 2.63 to beat Portugal on Thursday, who are 2.75, while the draw is 3.20.

Despite the blow of losing Berahino, England are still priced at 5.25 to go on and win the European Championships, just behind 3.25 favourites Germany.