England‘s injury problems appear to be easing ahead of their first match of Euro 2020 against 2018 World Cup foes Croatia at Wembley on Sunday.
Gareth Southgate‘s preparations for the tournament have been far from ideal given he has had to contend with injuries to key players and been without representatives from Champions League finalists Chelsea and Manchester City for both warm-up matches.
Nevertheless, things are starting to look more positive for the Three Lions on the fitness front, given both Jordan Henderson and Kalvin Phillips came through the 1-0 win over Romania on Sunday unscathed after recently recovering from groin and shoulder issues respectively.
Henderson’s fitness has been one of the main talking points as the tournament edges closer as the Liverpool captain had been sidelined for four months, before coming on at half-time against Romania.
ITV pundit Roy Keane questioned the wisdom in taking Henderson to Euro 2020 when he isn’t match fit. “I’ve heard a lot of people say they want him around the place. For what?” he asked. “Does he do card tricks? Does he have a sing-song? Does he do quizzes in the evening? What does he do?”
There are similar concerns over Harry Maguire who missed Manchester United’s final five matches of the season, including the Europa League final defeat to Villarreal, with an ankle ligament injury.
Here’s the latest news on England’s injury issues:
Harry Maguire
Maguire looks certain to miss England’s first game against Croatia but Southgate provided a positive update on his fitness after England’s 1-0 win over Romania on Sunday.
“He’s progressing well. He was running today so the last few days have been very positive,” Southgate said.
“There’s still a little bit of work to be done, but he’s definitely heading in the right direction and we’re very pleased with the progress over the last two days in particular.”
Southgate was also asked about Maguire’s condition before the game on Saturday.
“We know there is always that risk [of him not being able to play at the tournament] but… he should be available, and it’s a case of when he can slot back into training with the group and how quickly we can progress him,” he said.
“But of course there is always that risk with any injury that you only have to have one minor setback, and two or three days here and there really affects those timelines.
“So I’m very realistic about that. We’ve picked a squad on the basis that if we didn’t have him, we’ve got the players to come in, and if he’s able to be fit and available, then that’s a bonus for us.”
Jordan Henderson
Henderson will have been pleased to get 45 minutes under his belt after such a long time out, although he would have been less happy at seeing his penalty saved by Romania ‘keeper Florian Nita. Southgate wasn’t too impressed with Henderson for taking the ball off Dominic Calvert-Lewin either.
The England boss was more positive about Henderson’s condition, though, saying: “It’s a step forward for him physically today which was important for him to be able to play some sort of part in the tournament and we are realistic about what that could be.
“It’s not a situation where it’s dividing the group or it’s unrealistic what’s possible. We’re not hanging our hat on him being fit and if we can get him to a good level then that’s a bonus. We’ve got 26 players which hasn’t been the case before.”
Although Henderson is more advanced in his recovery than Maguire, it is unlikely that he will be thrust into the midfield battle against Croatia who appear to be England’s main rivals in Group B.
Bukayo Saka
Bukayo Saka was England’s match-winner in their first pre-tournament game against Austria, tapping into an empty net to score his first international goal.
However, the Arsenal winger was unable to build on that display against Romania due to injury. Southgate provided a positive update on Saka’s condition after that game, though.
“A sort of minor hip flexor injury,” he said when asked what the injury was. “We’re hoping he should train by the middle of the week.
“We’ll assess that day by day but not one that we’re concerned about for the sort of mid-term anyway.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3cnAlgN
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