England suffer injury complication as James Maddison ‘to miss World Cup opener vs Iran’ | Football | Sport

James Maddison looks set to miss out on the squad for England’s World Cup opener against Iran on Monday, according to reports. Whether Maddison was going to make Gareth Southgate’s final 26-man squad for the World Cup or not proved to be the main storyline last week.

The Leicester midfielder hadn’t played for England since making his one and only appearance three years ago. But his performances this season for the Foxes eventually forced Southgate’s hand to bring Maddison into the fold.

He immediately adds goals into England’s midfield and there was talk of him even being involved from the start in their World Cup opener against Iran on Monday. However, Maddison has been carrying a knock ever since meeting up with the England squad after being forced off for Leicester against West Ham last week.

The 25-year-old brushed off any concerns over his injury earlier this week in a press conference. “The injury is OK. We had a scan the day before we met up, and it was a positive scan. I had a little problem in the lead-up to the West Ham game,” he said.

“I wanted to play, but I didn’t want to not play because of the World Cup. That’s not the sort of person I am. I wanted to show the focus was still there. I managed to score early and carry on for a little bit after that, but there was soreness, and it was getting a little bit worse as the game was going on because I didn’t want it to get worse and we could get someone on who can run at full sprint.”

But it appears as though Maddison’s injury is worse than first feared, according to talkSPORT. It is claimed that Maddison is ‘highly unlikely’ to play any part of England’s match against Iran.

The report points out that Maddison has been unable to join in full training since England landed in Qatar. But there are reportedly no plans for England to make a last-minute squad change to replace Maddison with someone who is available now.

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