Ben White is in line to return to the England squad on Thursday as Gareth Southgate looks for solutions in defence after losing Harry Maguire for the World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Hungary.
England, who also have a host of absentees in attack, have problems at the back before resuming their qualifying campaign for Qatar 2022 a week on Saturday. Maguire is out for a few weeks with a calf injury and the Manchester United captain’s regular partner in central defence, John Stones, is yet to play for Manchester City this season.
Southgate also has issues over his full-backs. Trent Alexander-Arnold is out, Reece James is a major doubt with a twisted ankle and Ben Chilwell’s hopes of a recall are complicated by the left-back’s lack of action since helping Chelsea beat City in the Champions League final. Chilwell has previously provided competition for Luke Shaw, who hopes to be involved despite limping off in United’s defeat by Aston Villa last weekend.
The defensive uncertainty is a headache for England, who are four points above Albania at the top of Group I before visiting Andorra and hosting Hungary three days later. However Southgate does have options at the back. Tyrone Mings impressed as Maguire’s understudy against Croatia and Scotland at Euro 2020, Conor Coady is a trusted squad and Southgate is likely to bring back White.
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White, who has made a promising start at Arsenal since his £50m move from Brighton, was part of the Euros squad and the 23-year-old missed last month’s camp only because of a positive Covid-19 test. He could be joined by Fikayo Tomori; the former Chelsea defender has been outstanding for Milan this season.
Further forward Southgate is short of strikers to compete with Harry Kane. Leeds United’s Patrick Bamford and Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin are injured and Marcus Rashford is recovering from shoulder surgery.
Tammy Abraham could return after excelling since leaving Chelsea for Roma, and Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings are also in contention. United’s Mason Greenwood could miss out again as Southgate continues to manage the 19-year-old’s workload. The Leicester winger Harvey Barnes is unlikely to make the cut.
Meanwhile Callum Hudson-Odoi is unlikely to play for the Under-21s next month. The Chelsea winger decided not to attend last month’s camp despite being called up by Lee Carsley and it is understood the situation has not changed.
