“I know Daniel Sturridge and if he is unfit when we play Russian Federation in Marseille then that might make a difference, but there is no indication at the moment that the seriousness of his injury is such”, he said.
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Hodgson must reduce his squad by three players by 11pm on Tuesday, before one final friendly match against Portugal ahead of their Group B opener against Russian Federation on June 11. Hodgson now appears willing to select Sturridge even if he does not prove his fitness before the 31 May deadline, though Rashford could yet be selected on his own merit.
“Given the opportunity I’m sure he’ll do very well but that’s up to the manager”.
“I was so happy for him”, Chris Smalling, stand-in England captain and fellow United player, said. I asked in the build-up if he was up to playing at global level and we got a resounding yes from him. He exhausted towards the end, he was obviously feeling the intensity and the pace of the game and we expected that.
“It’s fantastic. I’ve got until Tuesday to name my squad but he wouldn’t be out of place in anyone’s 23”.
“That’s the most important thing for me – my mentality to not to really listen to outsiders and to just concentrate on myself and express myself”.
Rashford probably only started against Australia because of an injury to Daniel Sturridge, but Hodgson said he was hopeful the Liverpool striker will recover sufficiently to train with the squad on Monday.
“I don’t know how long it was but it was early that he gets his first goal for England”.
In that moment the Manchester United rookie looked to the manor born, celebrating calmly and seeming less surprised than his team-mates that he had just become the youngest England debutant to find the net.
United have been negotiations with Rashford’s representatives for a number of weeks and they are expected to announce the player’s new deal before the Euros kick off on June 10.
“When Wayne came on, Marcus played on the flank and showed what he could do there. After his goal tonight, I’m tempted to give him a go at center forward in the next game”, he said. I will have two or three more sleepless nights before I submit my list on Tuesday.
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“He’s put a bit of pressure on the manager”.
