England manager Gareth Southgate has been given a boost ahead of naming his World Cup squad on Thursday after Newcastle boss Eddie Howe confirmed that Kieran Trippier is fully fit.
Trippier could be seen holding his hamstring during Newcastle’s 4-1 win over Southampton on Sunday and was taken off with 10 minutes to go.
Southgate already has issues at right-back, with Kyle Walker and Reece James out injured, and losing Trippier would have been a further blow for the England boss, who is due to name his final 26-man group for Qatar this week.
But speaking on Tuesday morning ahead of Newcastle’s Carabao Cup clash with Crystal Palace tomorrow, Howe said: “There’s no problems with Kieran.
“It always looks more than it is when the physio comes onto the pitch but he came out second half and he was fine. As I said after the game, it was my decision to take him off.”
Newcastle striker Callum Wilson, who is also hoping to make the England squad, was forced off against Southampton at half-time, but he is recovering well and will be fine for the World Cup if selected.
“He’s OK,” said Howe. “He’s been ill for a few days so he’s a little bit run down but we'll see how he is again today.”
Meanwhile, Kalvin Phillips confirmed on Monday that he was “very hopeful” of being selected by England, having now returned to fitness after shoulder surgery.
The former Leeds midfielder is expected to play some part for Manchester City in their heavyweight Carabao Cup tie with Chelsea that takes place on the eve of Southgate’s announcement, having not featured since September.
"The shoulder's perfectly fine now," Phillips told BBC Radio 5 Live. “I have gone through a seven-week process of recovering as fast as I possibly can for the World Cup. Everything is going great. I've obviously not done it for quite a long time now but I've kept my fitness up and I'd like to think I could play 90 minutes.”
