England soccer star flies home from World Cup after armed intruders broke into his family home in London

• England's Raheem Sterling flew home from the World Cup after an armed break-in at his family home.
• The 27-year-old missed England's 3-0 win over Senegal on Sunday night because of the incident.

England soccer star Raheem Sterling has left the World Cup in Qatar and returned to London after armed intruders broke into his family home on Saturday night.

The 27-year-old, who started for England against Iran and USA, missed his country's 3-0 win over Senegal in the last 16 on Sunday night because of the incident.

"Sometimes football isn't the most important thing and family should come first," England manager Gareth Southgate told ITV.

Southgate added that it remains unclear whether Sterling will return to Qatar for the remainder of the tournament.

"At the moment it's a situation that he needs to be with his family to deal with," he said. "I don't want to put him under any pressure with this."

Police investigating the break-in have confirmed that nobody was at home at the time and that jewelry and watches were reportedly taken.

"No threat of violence was involved as the items were discovered stolen retrospectively," Surrey Police said in a statement. "Enquiries into the circumstances are ongoing. No arrests have been made at this time."

—England (@England) December 4, 2022

Speaking after the Senegal match, England's captain, Harry Kane, said: "Our thoughts are with him and his family. It's a private matter but it's never easy to see one of your teammates and friends deal with something like that.

"We'll have to take it day by day. I'm sure Raheem will speak to the manager and take the best decision for him and his family. That's the most important thing. We send him our best wishes and hope to see him as soon as possible."

England's next game is against France in the quarterfinals on December 10.