Danny Welbeck hopes to prove his fitness in time to feature in England’s opening game against Italy on Saturday after scans on the forward’s right thigh confirmed he had not suffered serious damage.
The Manchester United striker, already wearing heavy strapping on his leg, had pulled up during Tuesday’s training session at the team’s Urca base and limped off the pitch to receive treatment with the head physio, Gary Lewin. He sat out the team’s drills on Wednesday to undergo further treatment, alongside Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but has been encouraged by the results of the scans and aims to be back on the pitch and in contention when the players train at the Arena da Amazônia on the eve of the game against Italy.
Roy Hodgson, who will put his squad through a gym session on arrival in Manaus on Thursday, rather than training outside in the heat, had pencilled in Welbeck as a starter against Cesare Prandelli’s team having long relied on the forward as a key member of his side. The 23-year-old has scored five goals in his 12 competitive appearances, all under this manager, and was due to operate on the left-hand side in Amazônia where his energy and diligence would be highly valued. The coaching staff have trialled alternative selections in his absence and, if concerns linger about the state of Welbeck’s fitness, could yet be swayed towards starting with Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling.
The teenager was utilised almost entirely on the left prong of an attacking trident behind Daniel Sturridge during the team’s drills at Urca on Wednesday, having been deployed as a central No10 the previous day. Wayne Rooney reverted to that No10 role in the session, with Adam Lallana largely used on the right, though the experienced United forward expects Welbeck to return against Italy.
“Danny will be fine,” said Rooney, who will earn his 93rd cap in Manaus. “He’ll be ready for Saturday. He’s not risked anything in training today so he’ll train on Friday and he’ll be available for Saturday, I’m sure.”
England’s training session was very much geared towards inflicting damage on an Italy team who are expected to flood the midfield. Prandelli is considering whether Marco Verratti or Thiago Motta, both of Paris Saint-Germain, will feature in the middle alongside Andrea Pirlo. The former has returned to training having suffered a fever earlier in the week, though his partnership with Pirlo still seems awkward. Italy also have to decide whether Mario Balotelli, so impressive en route to the final at Euro 2012 or Ciro Immobile starts the game up front. Prandelli’s instinct is to play a lone forward.
Regardless, Hodgson and his coach Gary Neville feel England can wound the Italians and have focused on encouraging at least two of the midfielders to break forward and support Sturridge in an attempt to outnumber their opponents. Jordan Henderson is expected to partner the captain, Steven Gerrard, in the centre where the younger man’s energy will be key, and players have been constantly reminded of the dangers of being caught on the counterattack.
Rooney is convinced this England team are more capable of hurting Italy than the weary lineup that drew 0-0 in Kiev in the quarter-finals at Euro 2012 before departing the tournament on penalties. “It is exciting,” he said. “I think the younger players bring a lot of energy and excitement. It is probably the best squad of players I’ve been involved with since I’ve been with England, so I’m looking forward to this tournament and the future with England. It certainly looks bright.
“I think this team have [moved ahead of Italy]. The side – the squad – are youthful with a lot of energy, while Italy’s are more or less the same squad from two years ago. It will be an interesting game for us to see how we’ve moved on and how we’ve progressed in those two years. We’re not really too focused on Pirlo. He has been a fantastic player and Italy have got some great players but so have we. They should really be more worried about our team. The Italian players should be looking at us and wondering how they can control our team.”
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