England Euro 2016 squad: Roy Hodgson calms Jack Wilshere and Jordan Henderson fitness concerns
England manager Roy Hodgson has no major concerns over the fitness of Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere and Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson having included both footballers in his provisional squad for Euro 2016.
Wilshere, 24, has endured another season derailed by injury but made two appearances off the bench against Sunderland and Manchester City before starting his first game of the season on the final day of the 2015-16 campaign against Aston Villa on Sunday 15 May.
Henderson meanwhile damaged lateral collateral ligaments in his left knee in a Europa League clash with Borussia Dortmund in March, ruling him out for 10 matches. The former Sunderland midfielder returned in the last game of the season against West Brom and is hopeful of reclaiming a starting role on Wednesday in the Europa League final against Sevilla.
While wary the pair have not played as much first-team football as they may have liked, Hodgson insists he has not selected anyone in his 26-man squad with major fitness concerns.
"I didn't want to name people even in a preparation squad who were actually unfit and would have to be looked after by our medical staff and we would be sweating on them actually becoming fit or getting fit again before the tournament actually starts," Hodgson told a press conference.
"I made it clear, I don't want to do that, I wanted to have players who are obviously fit , whether they have played enough games is another matter, and give them the chance to get some extra training,
"I was very pleased to see Jordan get back for yesterday's game, Jack has been back for the last two weeks and has been back longer than that if you take into account Under-21 games. This opportunity we have with three preparations matches will give us the chance to really assess their fitness and there are enough players around that if I decided they weren't going to make it to still name the 23."
On Henderson, Hodgson added: "The most important thing is, I don't want to name people, including in the preparation squad, who are not fit and we would have to sweat on their fitness. I want players who are actually fit, if they haven't played enough games it doesn't matter.
"You always have players who you want to have had a few more games, but also you want some players to have played less. I was happy to see Jordan back and these matches can help with fitness."
© Copyright IBTimes 2024. All rights reserved.