Harry Maguire is understood to be confident that he’ll prove his fitness to Gareth Southgate before the England manager selects his World Cup squad.
Maguire picked up a thigh injury in the Nations League game against Germany and has not played since – the latest blow to a complicated campaign for the Manchester United centre-back.
There are just three games for United before Southgate names his World Cup squad and he may have doubts about including Maguire unless the defender can prove he is fit again by then.
However, ESPN reports that the defenseman is confident he will be able to recover and get some minutes under his belt in time to do so.
Maguire’s injury is believed to be “minor” and his recovery is going according to plan.
Even if he is fit again, whether he will get a start from Erik ten Haga is highly uncertain, having fallen behind Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane in the pecking order since the Dutchman took over in the summer.
However, Southgate has previously stated that he has no plans to drop Maguire if he is fit, regardless of how much he plays for Man Utd.
The 29-year-old has been a key player for the Three Lions throughout Southgate’s reign, playing as big a role as anyone in their run to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and Euro 2020 final, and will remain so for a long time. how is he in good shape.
His return is all the more important as Kyle Walker looks set to miss the tournament in Qatar after groin surgery.