Gareth Southgate has been handed a double injury boost as centre-backs Marc Guehi and Fikayo Tomori have both returned to England training on Monday.
The pair both missed Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Hungary, with England getting their UEFA Nations League campaign off to the worst possible start with a tepid display at the Puskas Arena. Southgate was short on defensive options for the game and was criticised for naming a mismatched team that included debutant James Justin playing at left wing-back and Conor Coady playing at the heart of a back five flanked by Kyle Walker and Harry Maguire.
England were without Ben White, who withdrew from the squad early on with injury, and John Stones, who only returned to Manchester City action on the final day of the Premier League season following a knock. Guehi and Tomori, who both had excellent seasons at Crystal Palace and AC Milan respectively, also arrived in the England camp with injuries, further limiting Southgate’s options for their Nations League opener.
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The Three Lions boss has now been boosted by the return of several players to training, with both Guehi and Tomori spotted taking part in team training in Munich on Monday morning. Stones is also back and could feature on Tuesday night against Germany along with Kalvin Phillips and Raheem Sterling. Justin, who was forced off at half-time against Hungary, was the only player absent from training while he completed individual workouts indoors.
Chelsea academy graduate Guehi will be hoping to build on his sole England cap by featuring in the upcoming Nations League matches after coming off the back of a strong campaign with Crystal Palace. The 21-year-old made an £18million move to Selhurst Park last summer and quickly cemented himself as Patrick Vieira ’s first-choice at centre-back, rarely putting a foot wrong in the Eagles’ backline and winning the club’s Players’ Player of the Season award in May.
He was chosen to captain the side several times during the second half of the campaign and received his first call-up to the senior England team in March as part of Southgate’s squad for friendly matches against Ivory Coast and Switzerland, making his debut in the latter during a 2-1 victory at Wembley.
Speaking after he’d announced Guehi as being in his squad in March, Southgate said of the defender: “He’s had a really consistent season. He’s been really calm. We’ve known a lot about him through his development team. He’s a [Under-17] World Cup winner. It’s a good opportunity to see younger players and see how they cope with us.”
