Raheem Sterling has been dropped by England for Thursday's fixture against Montenegro after clashing with Joe Gomez. 

The pair, who play for Liverpool and Manchester City, were involved in a bust-up relating to Sunday's fixture which saw the Reds win 3-1 at Anfield.

They had to be separated by shocked team-mates following a physical confrontation on Monday after some banter about the previous day got out of hand, per Sportsmail.  

Shortly after the news broke, Gareth Southgate and the Football Association released a statement confirming Sterling will be dropped for Thursday's game. 

"We have taken the decision not to consider Raheem for the match against Montenegro on Thursday," Southgate said.

"One of the great challenges and strengths for us is that we've been able to separate club rivalries from the national team. Unfortunately, the emotions from yesterday's game were still raw.

"My feeling is that the right thing for the team is the action we have taken. Now that the decision has been made with the agreement of the entire squad, it's important that we support the players and focus on Thursday night." 

Incredible stuff. That's quite a statement from Southgate and it's one that suggests no player is bigger than the England team.

As the manager eluded to, tensions are still running high from Sunday's crunch fixture. 

Late in that match, Sterling and Gomez clashed when the City forward tried to win the ball off his opponent.

He backed into the Liverpool defender, who responded by pushing Sterling and the pair squared up. James Milner had to intervene and break it up.

Despite being dropped for the Montenegro game, Sterling remains with the England squad and is in contention to play on Sunday against Kosovo.