England ace Abraham is first Three Lions star to confirm he’s had Covid vaccine – but teammate Tomori refuses to answer

England forward Tammy Abraham became the first member of the Three Lions squad to confirm that he’s been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, although teammate Fikayo Tomori said he would not disclose his status.

“It is a personal choice,” said former Chelsea forward Abraham.

“People are entitled to do what they want to do with their bodies. For me it was a different situation. I am vaccinated.”

Abraham, 24, now plays his football under Jose Mourinho at Roma, having made the switch from London to the Italian capital in the summer transfer window.

“I have contracted the virus before, I am in Italy and for me it is the right thing to do," added the striker. 

“Everyone is entitled to do what they want to do and what is personal to them. They should make the decision to what they want to do.”

Footballers in England have come to the forefront of the vaccine debate in recent days after reports that at least five members of Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions squad – including three ‘senior’ players – are refusing to be jabbed.

In the English Premier League, as of two weeks ago only seven clubs had achieved vaccination rates of more than 50% among their squads.

Reports have claimed that conspiracy theories regarding the jab and the likes of tech billionaire Bill Gates are ‘rife’ among some dressing rooms, as well as supposed concerns that the Covid vaccine would cause infertility.

In contrast to Abraham’s openness, his former Chelsea teammate Tomori – who now plays at AC Milan in Serie A – was guarded about his vaccine status.

“It’s a personal issue,” said the 23-year-old. “It varies from Italy to England. I want to keep it to myself… for every personal individual it’s their own prerogative to take it or not take it.”

He added: “If I want to do what I want to do then that is it. If another player wants to do that it is a personal issue – not just for every athlete but for people who are not athletes.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has added to the furor over vaccination rates by recently comparing people who aren’t fully jabbed to drink drivers.

Tomori said he understands why players have an important profile in the debate, but unlike Klopp said it wasn’t his place to lecture others.

“We’re public figures so I definitely see why people are wondering or asking: ‘If they’re going to take it, I’m going to take it. If they’re not going to take it, I’m not going to take it’,” Tomori said.

“I don’t think it’s my place to put it out there if I’ve done this or done that to influence people. It’s to leave people to their own if they want to do it or not…

“I haven’t had any conversations about the vaccinations or anything like that (with other players)… it’s not something that we’re really talking about.”

There were reports that unvaccinated England stars could risk missing the World Cup in Qatar next year, should local organizers make full vaccination a requirement.

However, it has since been reported that FIFA is aiming to avoid any such restrictions, with unjabbed players instead being able to provide proof of Covid recovery or regular negative tests.

England manager Southgate said in August that he had received more abuse for fronting a Covid vaccination campaign this summer than he did for his team’s penalty shootout defeat against Italy in the final of Euro 2020.

Southgate admitted last weekend that he did not know how many of his stars have been fully vaccinated, as the team prepares for World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Hungary.  

After Abraham and Tomori spoke to the press, some were critical of other members of the team for not speaking up, with Telegraph reporter Matt Law saying the voice of captain Harry Kane should be heard. 

"Tammy Abraham becomes the first England player to confirm he is vaccinated but the issue remains a sensitive subject around the squad," tweeted Law. 

"I felt a bit sorry for Abraham and Tomori being put up to answer questions on it. Should have been the England captain IMO."