Hopefully I am OK, says limping Alli on thigh injury
DELE Alli is a doubt for Sunday’s clash against Panama after suffering a thigh injury. The midfielder sustained the problem during the first half and was nearly substituted before half-time with Fabian Delph stripped to come on. But Alli stayed on, seemingly allaying fears of serious injury, before coming off for Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the 80th minute. Alli limped out of the stadium and will have the injury assessed today at England’s Repino base. The Spurs star tried to ease worries, saying: ‘Hopefully I am OK. It’s my quad.’ Manager Gareth Southgate said: ‘We had to keep monitoring Dele. He had a problem just before half-time, but felt he could carry on. ‘The runs he was making were causing problems. He had a half-chance from Jordan Henderson’s pass, but we had good options on the bench. ‘The freshness of Marcus Rashford and Ruben Loftus-Cheek would bring energy and a different threat to the one we’d posed. ‘They had a good impact on the game. So did the four forwards the game. who Their started movement and runs and interchanges were a real problem.’