Gareth Southgate will name a provisional England squad of more than 26 players for this summer’s Euro 2020 tournament on Tuesday before trimming that number down on 1 June.
With an all-English Champions League final between Manchester City and Chelsea to be played in Porto on Saturday and Manchester United involved in this week’s Europa League final, several England players are still engaged in club duties.
Others like the Liverpool and United captains Jordan Henderson and Harry Maguire are carrying injuries that are not expected to rule them out of the tournament but are subject to ongoing assessments.
Southgate has therefore opted to name a provisional squad larger than the 26-man selection that will go to the tournament and be confirmed next Tuesday, the final deadline for squad submissions.
The England manager was hit by two fresh injury concerns this weekend on the final day of the Premier League season, with Burnley confirming that goalkeeper Nick Pope will be required to undergo knee surgery.
Sean Dyche, the Burnley manager, described the procedure as “minor” but Pope’s injury leaves him at risk of losing his place as one of Southgate’s three goalkeeper to West Bromwich Albion’s Sam Johnstone.
Kalvin Phillips was also the subject of an injury scare after going off with a shoulder problem in Leeds’ final day win over West Bromwich. The Elland Road club said on Monday that they were still confident their midfielder would be fit to represent England this summer if selected.
