Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham and Chelsea defender Levi Colwill have both pulled out of the England squad for November's internationals due to injury.
Bellingham has been nursing a shoulder problem sustained during Real's recent La Liga draw with Rayo Vallecano, in which the 20-year-old was still able to complete the full 90 minutes.
However, Bellingham was subsequently left on the bench for Los Blancos' Champions League win over Braga last week, before skipping their 5-1 La Liga success over Valencia entirely.
Real confirmed over the weekend that the former Borussia Dortmund man would miss the clash with Valencia due to an "anterior instability" of the left shoulder, which he was revealed to have dislocated against Rayo Vallecano.
Carlo Ancelotti poured doubt over Bellingham's availability for his national team this month, and England have now confirmed that the midfielder has been sent home to recuperate.
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In addition, Colwill has also left the camp at St George's Park, having sat out Chelsea's enthralling 4-4 draw with Manchester City at the weekend after only lasting 45 minutes of the 4-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur.
Similarly to Bellingham, Colwill is also down with a shoulder injury, and the pair were assessed by the England medical team before the decision was made to withdraw them from the squad.
An injury update on englandfootball.com read: "Jude Bellingham and Levi Colwill will play no part in England's forthcoming UEFA EURO 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia.
"The pair arrived at St. George's Park for assessments on Monday but will now return to Real Madrid and Chelsea respectively to continue their rehabilitation."
Bellingham and Colwill's exits take England's November withdrawals up to five, as James Maddison, Lewis Dunk and Callum Wilson have also had to pull out of national team duty owing to recent injuries.
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The trio's withdrawals saw Southgate hand Cole Palmer, Ezri Konsa and Rico Lewis their maiden senior call-ups, while overlooking James Ward-Prowse and Raheem Sterling despite their strong form domestically.
England also announced on Tuesday morning that Marcus Rashford and Kalvin Phillips were yet to link up with the rest of the team at St George's Park, as both players are attending to personal matters.
The pair are expected to arrive later this week, and it remains to be seen whether their participation in Friday's Wembley showdown with Malta, which comes three days before England close out their successful Euro 2024 qualifying campaign against North Macedonia.
The Three Lions booked their tickets to next year's Finals courtesy of a 3-1 win over reigning champions Italy last month, moving them onto 16 points from a possible 18 in Group C.
Southgate's side have already confirmed top spot in the group, but they are yet to seal a place in pot one, which could hand them a favourable group-stage draw in Germany.
Ben Knapton
