Ben White breaks silence after leaving England's World Cup camp and returning to Arsenal training
Ben White is back in Arsenal training after leaving England's World Cup squad and he seems delighted.
The 25-year-old left Qatar on November 30 for 'personal reasons' after not featuring in the Three Lions' opening two Group B games.
White was ill for the opening game victory over Iran and was an unused substitute in a draw against the USMNT.
An official statement from the FA asked for White's privacy to be respected while confirming he would not be returning to their training base in Al Wakrah.
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The defender has joined up with his club side in Dubai this week to prepare for a return to Premier League action.
Arsenal are currently top of the league, with Mikel Arteta's side next in action on Boxing Day against West Ham United.
Before that, they'll face Serie A giants Juventus and AC Milan in mid-season friendlies to get back to match fitness.
It's currently unknown if White will feature in either of those games. Regardless, he's glad to be back at his club.
White posted to social media for the first time since jetting out for England's World Cup campaign on Monday evening.
Alongside a series of training pictures on Instagram, he said: "We back baby," with a smiling emoji.
Comments on the post have been limited, likely to avoid any unnecessary drama.
England manager Gareth Southgate responded to claims made about White's departure from the squad last week.
The 52-year-old stressed he did not want to give rumours 'credibility'.
When asked if he wanted to offer comment, Southgate replied: "Well, not really. What I’ve been shown was alleged and there was another word that was used.
"I think by commenting on the story I could be giving it any form of credibility, really.
We explained why Ben left the camp and I think it’s important that that is respected, really."
England were eliminated from the World Cup following a 2-1 loss to France on Saturday evening.
Goals from Aurelien Tchouameni and Olivier Giroud were enough to condemn England to a sixth World Cup quarter-final defeat.
Harry Kane, who had equalised from the penalty spot earlier in the game, had a chance to get England level five minutes before time.
He blazed his second spot-kick high into the Al Bayt Stadium stands however. France will now play Morocco in the second semi-final on Wednesday.
Daniel Marland