England v Poland: Andros Townsend injury could prompt Roy Hodgson to change starting line-up
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Roy Hodgson said on Monday that Andros Townsend, England’s match-winner on Friday, had picked up an unspecified injury in training and cast some doubt over whether the Tottenham man would play in Tuesday’s must-win World Cup qualifier against Poland.
England v Poland: Follow the latest news and score with our LIVE BLOG
Townsend had reported the injury after the win over Montenegro, Hodgson said, later adding that he did not expect it to rule him out of contention tonight. However, it opened up the question of whether the England manager may revert to a more conservative formation against a Poland team likely to be more accomplished than the injury-ravaged Montenegrins.
Hodgson said: “Andros took a knock [during the game], several knocks, but one he told the doctor about. We’re very confident, he trained [yesterday] and I don’t expect him to report anything different. We’re very hopeful.” There are no other problems, although Phil Jagielka sustained a cut mouth in training.
Asked later specifically whether Townsend would start the game, Hodgson said: “I am not thinking about massive changes to the starting line-up but he took a knock so we will still monitor that but we are very hopeful that he will be able to play.” Kyle Walker is suspended having picked up a booking on Friday.
Asked whether he would pursue the same attacking approach, Hodgson said: “We have tried to play that way all along. The criticism came largely as a result of a 0-0 [in Ukraine] which often as a coach in my career I have experienced. It seems to be that the 0-0 draws are an anathema to journalists, they see lots of terrible things. I think we are getting better all the time. I think a lot of the younger, exciting players have come in and added something to our team.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments