Guehi set to win England fitness race, but White is ruled out

MARC GUEHI is winning his race to be fit for England’s upcoming Nations League fixtures after making positive progress from an ankle injury. There is now hope that the Crystal Palace defender can figure in at least one of the four games taking place in June. However, fellow centre back Ben White has been forced to withdraw from the squad. The 24-year-old Arsenal player was due to report for duty at St George’s Park yesterday but he will instead remain at the Gunners’ training HQ. White and Guehi, as revealed by Sportsmail, were doubts for Gareth Southgate’s squad for the games against Hungary (twice), Germany and Italy due to the injuries they sustained at the end of the season. AC Milan defender Fikayo Tomori has also arrived with a slight injury and and will be assessed in the coming days after not training as normal yesterday. Guehi took a blow to his ankle in the 3-2 loss against Everton on May 19 — which forced him to miss the final game of the season against Manchester United at home. The 21-year-old had been wearing a protective boot and Southgate admitted last week that he was a doubt for England’s summer fixtures. However, he reported for duty yesterday and is out of the boot amid growing belief that he will be available. He is almost certain to miss Saturday’s clash in Hungary and next Tuesday’s visit to Germany. However, there is hope that he could be fit to play in the game against Italy at Molineux on June 11 or the clash against Hungary, also at Wolves, that takes place on June 14. But the England manager’s determination to have Guehi — who has one cap — as a part of the camp is a strong indication that he is a contender to make the World Cup squad for Qatar. Elsewhere, the FA have confirmed that Raheem Sterling, Kieran Trippier, Trent Alexander-Arnold and James Ward-Prowse will report for duty today.