Raheem Sterling is expected to be dropped for England’s World Cup match against Panama on Sunday.

England’s assistant manager Steve Holland was snapped carrying a note that appeared to show Gareth Southgate’s XI - and Ruben Loftus-Cheek is ahead of Sterling.

The Manchester City forward has come in for some criticism following his performance in the 2-1 win over Tunisia on Monday.

And dropping Sterling was one of the suggestions that Jamie Carragher put forward after England’s opening group game.

“If Southgate persists with Sterling in this role, can he really trust him to provide the goals?,” Carragher wrote in his column for the Telegraph.

“Can he really take the recent goal form at Manchester City onto the international stage?

“It does not help if he is not playing in the position from which he struck those goals."

Henderson comes to Sterling's defence

Sterling retains the support of his teammates, though, and that includes Jordan Henderson.

The Liverpool midfielder has defended Sterling, saying he deserves more credit and support from back home.

“I don’t think there should be any ‘noise’ around his performance the other night,” Henderson said, per the Mirror.

“I look at what he did for the team and what he brings to England with his pace to run in behind and dropping in and linking the play and I think he is a big player for us.

“He is always a threat. He works hard. He is used to the scrutiny now and I think he handles it all very well.”

The British press came down hard on Sterling in the build up to the World Cup and Henderson believes it’s entirely unfair.

“He was phenomenal for City last season, scoring more than 20 goals,” Henderson added.

“If other players had the season he had, I think we would be talking about it a lot more than we seem to do with Raheem.

“To score that many goals shows he is doing something right.

"If they are not [already], I think everyone needs to get behind him.”

Class from Henderson.

His comments prove the unity of this England side.