Daniel Sturridge will learn on Tuesday afternoon whether he is in Roy Hodgson’s final England squad for the European Championship after a timely return to training at the team’s base in London Colney.
The Liverpool forward, who missed England’s friendly win against Australia with a calf injury last Friday, completed the full session at Watford’s training ground as he attempted to convince Hodgson he should make the cut.
Ryan Bertrand was absent receiving treatment on an unspecified injury – the Football Association is apparently confident the left-back’s problem is not serious – and Hodgson will oversee one more workout before naming his 23-man party by Uefa’s midnight deadline.
The manager intends to tell the two players who have missed out on the squad after the morning drills. It seems likely the Leicester City midfielder Danny Drinkwater will be one of those omitted, following Fabian Delph, who has been ruled out with a groin complaint, out of the original 26-man squad. There has been fierce debate within the England coaching staff over who else will be left out and it is unlikely the final decision will have been unanimous.
Sturridge’s goalscoring ability, as demonstrated in the Europa League final against Sevilla this month, would normally smooth his inclusion but his regular injury issues have limited him to 58 minutes for his country since September 2014. Hodgson has stated he would not consider players for the final party who have not proved their fitness in the friendly fixtures before the tournament, which conclude against Portugal at Wembley on Thursday before they depart for France next Monday. That would suggest some doubt remains around the Liverpool forward’s inclusion.
Marcus Rashford’s eye-catching debut against Australia last Friday potentially offers Hodgson the chance to stick to his original plan to take five strikers in his party, though whether the 18-year-old would offer effective cover out wide is open to debate. Ross Barkley has moved to demonstrate his fitness by taking on extra training over recent days given he has played only 27 minutes of football since the Premier League’s final matches.
Andros Townsend, who was called up to replace the injured Danny Welbeck, has his backers among the coaching staff with Gary Neville having championed the Newcastle United winger’s cause, pointing to the variety he offers as a natural wide player. Indeed, the England assistant coach had contemplated trying to sign Townsend, then with Tottenham Hotspur, during his recent stint in charge of Valencia. Yet the 24-year-old played only 14 minutes of the games against Turkey and Australia and, given he was not under consideration until Welbeck’s knee injury, fears he could now drop out of the party once again.
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