England vs Italy: Phil Foden a doubt for Euro 2020 final with foot injury

Foden sat out of opening session on Saturday and Gareth Southgate says he is a doubt for the final

Mark Critchley
Northern Football Correspondent
Sunday 11 July 2021 13:43 BST
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Euro 2020: Daily briefing

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Phil Foden did not take part in England’s opening training session on Saturday as a precaution over a minor injury.

The Manchester City forward was the only member of Gareth Southgate's squad not to participate ahead of Sunday's Euro 2020 final against Italy.

Asked about the Manchester City playmaker’s fitness, Southgate told BBC Radio 5 Live: “He’s a doubt. We’ll have to check again but he’s got a fairly minor foot injury.

“But it’s just whether it’s going to be one that clears up in time for him to be able to take part in the game, so we’ll have to assess that again later.”

Foden is one of several players competing to start on the right-hand side of England's attack, which has seen more rotation than any other spot in Southgate's through the tournament.

Bukayo Saka started in the role in Wednesday's 2-1 extra time semi-final win over Denmark, though was replaced in the second half by Jack Grealish.

Jadon Sancho impressed when given the opportunity there in the 4-0 quarter-final win over Ukraine but did not feature in the last four.

Other than Foden, the other 25 players in Southgate's squad trained as normal at St George's Park and all players - including Foden - passed their mandatory Uefa pre-match Covid-19 tests.

Foden was introduced as a substitute during extra time against Denmark, replacing Mason Mount. The 21-year-old started the opening group games against Croatia and Scotland but has only made appearances from the bench since.

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