Gareth Southgate has made the ruthless decision to cut Jack Grealish from England’s Euro 2024 squad and will be without Harry Maguire for the tournament because of a calf injury.

The manager, who has already dropped James Maddison and Curtis Jones from his provisional 33-man squad, has been finalising his party of 26.

Grealish, who has had a disappointing season at Manchester City, has failed to dislodge rivals players in attacking midfield. The loss of Maguire is a huge blow to Southgate given the defender’s importance to England in past tournaments. Marc Guéhi has been the first back-up centre-half behind Maguire and John Stones.

Southgate’s other options in that position include Jarrad Branthwaite, Ezri Konsa, Joe Gomez, Lewis Dunk and Jarell Quansah, who is also expected to miss out.

One of the final two players to be cut will be a goalkeeper, likely Dean Henderson or James Trafford. Southgate may cut another defender, most likely Branthwaite, if he chooses to take two deputies to Harry Kane in Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins.

“I am devastated not to have been selected to play for England at the Euros this summer,” Maguire tweeted. “Despite my best efforts, I have not been able to overcome an injury to my calf. Maybe I pushed myself too hard, to try and make it. Simply, I am absolutely gutted.

“For me, representing England is the highest honour. It means everything to me. If I can’t help the team as a player, I will support them as a fan – along with the rest of the country. Go and win it boys. Next, I will return to the supervision of the Manchester United medical team in order to prepare for next season.”

Maddison also described himself as devastated but accepted his form had not been strong enough to demand inclusion. He wrote on social media: “Trained well and worked hard all week but if I’m honest with myself, my form for Spurs when coming back from injury in the second half of the season probably wasn’t at the levels I had set which gave Gareth a decision to make.”