Roy Hodgson has postponed the announcement of his squad for the Euro 2016 qualifiers with San Marino and Switzerland because a number of players are still to confirm their fitness.
The announcement had been scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, but Hodgson will instead reveal his chosen players on Sunday.
Hodgson said: “After meeting with my coaching staff today we have decided to wait until this Sunday before announcing the squad to face San Marino and Switzerland.
“We have a large of number of players that still need confirming regarding availability and fitness so rather than selecting a larger squad now, we will wait for the games at the weekend before choosing around 23 players who are definitely available.”
England play in San Marino on 5 September and face Switzerland at Wembley on 8 September.
If England beat San Marino a week on Saturday and Slovenia fail to beat Switzerland on the same day, Hodgson’s men will qualify for Euro 2016 with three games to spare. Wayne Rooney will, barring injury, be named in the squad when it is announced.
The England captain has gone 10 matches without a goal for United but will fancy finding at least the one goal he needs to equal Sir Bobby Charlton’s all-time scoring record when he leads the team out in San Marino.
Harry Kane has also failed to find the net so far this term but it would be a surprise if he were omitted from the squad, especially when Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck are injury doubts.
As well as Kane, another 13 players who represented England during their disappointing Under-21 European Championship campaign this summer are no longer eligible for the youth squad.
Striker Saido Berahino and goalkeeper Jack Butland, along with Danny Ings, are perhaps the most likely players to receive a call-up.
Berahino had a written transfer requested rejected by West Brom on Monday and his future could be clearer by the time the England squad meets at St George’s Park on 1 September, transfer deadline day.
Another player who may end up in the same situation and may have to report for England duty after resolving his club future is John Stones, who looks likely to be in the running to add to his four senior caps.
Chelsea are considering whether to table another bid for the Everton centre-back before 1 September.
Gareth Southgate will announce his England Under-21 side for the September 3 clash with the United States Under-23 squad as scheduled on Tuesday morning in Preston.
