England vs Sweden: Jamie Vardy a major doubt for World Cup 2018 quarter-finals with groin injury
Vardy didn't take a penalty against Colombia due to injury
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Your support makes all the difference.Jamie Vardy is a serious doubt for England's World Cup quarter-final with Sweden on Saturday.
The Leicester City striker missed training on Thursday with a groin injury that he picked up during Tuesday's game with Colombia, and which prevented him from taking a penalty in the shootout.
Vardy will be assessed when England train in Zelenogorsk on Friday morning, before they all fly to Samara, but Gareth Southgate was pessimistic about his chances of playing when asked on Thursday afternoon. "Vardy didn't train today, so is looking doubtful for this game," Southgate said, "but we'll know a bit more tomorrow, really."
The rest of the England squad all took part in light training, including some who were struggling in extra-time against Colombia on Tuesday. Ashley Young felt an ankle, Kyle Walker had cramp, and Southgate said they would get fitness tests on Friday before deciding if they could play on Saturday.
"The others were all on the pitch," Southgate said. "We didn't do a lot. I think at this stage, with minimal time on the pitch, a lot of our information is going to have to be in meetings. Because it really is as much about recovery, physical and psychological, as everything else. The downside of that is we can't push the players enough today to see whether they're ok. So we'll know more tomorrow. Young and Walker, we've no reason to believe they're serious issues. They were back on their feet today. "
Southgate reported that Dele Alli was "absolutely fine" after the Colombia game even though the Tottenham midfielder appeared to struggle, having missed the Panama and Belgium games with a thigh strain.
"Dele was absolutely fine after the game, didn't feel anything," he said. "I think the extra couple of days were really helpful for him. Had he gone into the last one a bit earlier he might have come out of the game feeling something. He was fine."
Southgate insisted that if any player is not able to perform at 100% he will be replaced by someone who can.
"Our feeling is, certainly nothing serious, but two or three in particular that we've probably got to assess quite closely tomorrow and see exactly what level they're at," he said. "Again because we've got good players to come in. So if we've got players that are 75%, then the guys who haven't been in the team deserve to come in and be at 100%. We've got to take performance decisions."
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