Gareth is on top of the World
GARETH SOUTHGATE breathed a huge sigh of relief after his England squad came through unscathed ahead of the World Cup.
Leicester midfielder James Maddison was the only injury concern from the final round of Premier League
matches as he limped out of his side’s win at West Ham on Saturday with a knee injury.
But boss Brendan Rodgers insists Maddison will be fit to take his place on the plane to Qatar when the players fly out later today.
Manchester United pair Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw played the full 90 minutes of the final Premier League game of the weekend ahead of joining the squad.
But United’s England defender Harry Maguire was left on the bench at Craven Cottage yesterday.
The players are due to report to St George’s Park before their flight.
Escaping injury-free will be a huge boost for England boss Southgate, who admitted he was nervous about the final weekend before the World Cup break.
But England and all the other nations do have until later today to make any last-minute replacements for the squad if anyone did suffer an injury in the final round of games.
The finalists can also make a replacement up to 24 hours before the first game which, in England’s case, is Iran a week today. They can replace a keeper during the tournament.
But they have to get permission from FIFA’s medical officer to make any last-minute replacement to their 26-man squad, which was already expanded because of Covid.
They can also make a replacement within 24 hours of the first game should anyone test positive for Covid.