Tottenham's Alex Pritchard out of England U21s

Alex Pritchard's European summer showcase has come to a premature end. The Tottenham Hotspur attacking midfielder saw his participation in England's U21 European Championship squad evaporate after he picked up an ankle injury in England's 1-0 win over Sweden in the Czech Republic on Sunday. The midfielder left the stadium wearing an immobilizing boot and on crutches.

This is an unfortunate way to end the campaign for Pritchard. He was one of the few bright spots for England in their opening two matches, showing a directness and flashy attacking moves in the #10 position behind Harry Kane. Pritchard came off the bench and provided a spark in an otherwise dour second half in England's 1-0 loss to Portugal, and started the match well against Sweden before being subbed off early in the second half after getting knocked on the ankle.

There are no indications as to the severity of the injury how long Pritchard will be out in recovery.

Pritchard had a fantastic season while on loan with Brentford in the English Championship this year, taking the Bees to the promotion playoffs where they lost to Middlesbrough, and earning himself a place on the Championship PFA Team of the Year. Pritchard is hoping that he'll be given a chance to impress Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino in offseason and hopefully snag a place in Spurs' first team for next season, like fellow Tottenham academy graduates Harry Kane, Ryan Mason, and Andros Townsend.

England still feature two Tottenham players that start for Gareth Southgate's squad: striker Kane and midfielder Tom Carroll. England takes on Italy in the final match of group play on Wednesday.