DELE’S ANGUISH

Injured Alli set to miss Panama tie

DELE ALLi is almost certain to miss England’s World Cup clash against Panama with a thigh strain.

The midfielder is set to miss three days of training and is very unlikely to be available for England’s second Group G game on Sunday in Nizhny Novgorod with a slight muscle strain.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek appears to be the leading candidate to replace Alli in central midfield after impressing as a late substitute in Monday’s win over Tunisia. Marcus Rashford is also pushing hard for a starting role against

Panama, which could put Raheem Sterling’s position at risk. England manager Gareth Southgate was impressed by Rashford’s impact as a substitute against Tunisia and is now considering playing the Manchester United forward. Alli’s injury was confirmed by the FA last night. He suffered it in the first half on Monday, but insisted on carrying on until he was replaced by Loftus-Cheek in the 80th minute. Alli looked in discomfort afterwards and had a scan in St Petersburg yesterday. Southgate also faces the decision of whether to stick with Sterling as Harry Kane’s strike partner, or replace the 23-year-old with Rashford. Sterling missed a golden chance early on in Volgograd and was replaced by Rashford in the 68th minute. But Southgate insisted he was pleased with Sterling’s display. Rashford’s preparations in Russia had been disrupted by a knee injury, so much so that the 20-year-old did not participate in full training until Friday. Nevertheless, Sportsmail understands Southgate agonised over whether to start Rashford after his explosive display against Costa Rica in England’s final warm-up game at Elland Road. Southgate may also pick Danny Rose in place of Ashley Young. Young performed well against Tunisia, but the manager would prefer a natural left-footer to play at left wing-back. Rose has struggled for fitness but after another week of training Southgate may decide to start with him.