England were given a huge boost to their Euro 2020 hopes on Wednesday when Harry Maguire returned to first-team training in over a month due to a troublesome ankle injury. Despite being unlikely to feature in England’s opening group game on June 13, a date for his return has been revealed.
According to new reports, Maguire is targeting action in England’s final group game against Slovakia on June 22. Gareth Southgate will be hoping that his squad have already qualified top of their group by then, allowing him to field a weakened side and get valuable minutes under Maguire’s belt.
That’s according to The Mirror, who claim that the 28-year-old is hopeful of featuring in the game.
Maguire is set to miss out on games against Croatia and Scotland in a gutting blow to Southgate, but according to reports, the England manager has been preparing for this exact scenario.
Southgate has reportedly tested Luke Shaw at centre-back in their preparations for the tournament this week and could decide to deploy the full-back in a more central role. Shaw has played on the left side of a three-man defence under Solskjaer before and would provide fine protection.
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