Picture Credit: Twitter
England’s World Cup campaign has hit already hit a crippling blow as Leicester City James Maddison was subbed off with an injury during the Foxes’ Premier League fixture against West Ham on Saturday at the London stadium.
The injury comes days after it was announced the midfielder will be part of the England squad for the World Cup this month in Qatar. Maddison scored the opening goal in the eighth minute of the match at West Ham. But he was taken off the pitch 25 minutes into the making, as Dennis Praet took his place.
Maddison has played for England once as he came on as a substitute in a European Championship qualifier against Montenegro in 2019. He has been rewarded for his incredible form for Leicester this season as he has scored six goals and dished out four assists before getting his maiden World Cup call-up. Maddison had some outside chances of making the squad after being repeatedly overlooked by the England manager Gareth Southgate.
This week, Southgate expressed that Maddison has the ability to play an important role at the World Cup in Qatar. He said, "We think he can give us something different to the other attacking players we’ve got. At various stages, there have been debates about James, moments where ahead of the Euros I don’t think he was in contention."
England squad for FIFA World Cup 2022:
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Newcastle), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
Defenders: Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), Eric Dier (Tottenham), John Stones (Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Conor Coady (Everton), Ben White (Arsenal), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Declan Rice (West Ham), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City)
Forwards: James Maddison (Leicester), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Chelsea), Callum Wilson (Newcastle), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United).
