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England’s Daniel Sturridge out of Switzerland game with thigh injury | England’s Daniel Sturridge out of Switzerland game with thigh injury |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Danny Welbeck hopes to be granted an opportunity in his favoured central striker role in England’s opening Euro 2016 qualifier against Switzerland on Monday after Daniel Sturridge was forced to withdraw from the squad after injuring a thigh in training. | |
The Liverpool forward, one of the national side’s brighter performers in Wednesday’s friendly win over Norway, had felt discomfort as he trained at St George’s Park on Friday morning and limped out of the session after an early run to be examined by the Football Association’s medical staff. He subsequently travelled to a local hospital to undergo a scan, with the results ruling him out of the awkward fixture in Basel. | |
Sturridge has since returned to Merseyside for treatment with his club side now to assess the severity of the damage amid fears he may be sidelined for two to three weeks. That would rule him out of their next Premier League match, against Aston Villa at Anfield on 13 September, and most likely their opening Champions League group game, against Ludogorets, three days later. “Heartbroken soul right now believe me,” the forward tweeted. “Hopefully be back soon fighting fit for LFC. Nothing worse than being injured. My head’s gone.” | |
While Liverpool will hope the 25-year-old can recover before that European fixture, his absence has dashed Roy Hodgson’s aspirations to field the same lineup against the Swiss that started at Wembley. | |
The centre-half Gary Cahill, who had sat out the session on Friday after recent ankle problems, will be fit for Basel, although he put Sturridge’s importance into proper context. “He’s a key player for club and country,” said the Chelsea centre-half. “He’s been fantastic of late and a real top player.” | |
With no plans to call up a replacement to the party, Hodgson will take a squad of only 19 players to Basel, with Ben Foster and Jack Colback having already withdrawn through injury since the group convened on Sunday. Yet Sturridge’s unavailability will most likely provide Welbeck, who joined Arsenal from Manchester United on transfer deadline day for £16m, with a route back into the team after a bright cameo against the Norwegians. | |
The forward had initially been a regular scorer for the national side, having stepped up to the senior squad, although his last goals for his country came in a 4-0 win over Moldova a year ago on Saturday. He had found opportunities limited at Old Trafford and, following Radamel Falcao’s arrival on loan from Monaco, was permitted to leave for a fresh start with Arsenal. | |
The 23-year-old could now partner his former club-mate Wayne Rooney up front if Hodgson is inclined to retain the same 4-4-2 system as in midweek, although the desire to exert greater control in midfield in Basel may yet see him tweak the set-up to a 4-2-3-1, with Welbeck operating on the left of a trio of attackers behind the captain. |
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