Jordan Henderson has opened up on the difficulty he has experienced during the European Championships.
England reached the semi-final with their win over Ukraine on Saturday, with the 31-year-old scoring the fourth goal of the match, also his first for the Three Lions.
He has yet to figure for more than 45 minutes in any game in the tournament, accumulating 80 minutes across the last three matches as he continues his comeback from groin surgery.
The injury sustained in the Merseyside Derby defeat to Everton in which he limped off inside half-an-hour added to the toil of injury woes that the Reds were suffering at that point of the season.
Henderson said: “(It's) difficult when you’re not playing, it can be frustrating at times especially when you’re not starting in games but you’ve just got to make sure you’re ready, train well.
"Of course, I’ve been out for a long time coming into the tournament so to be here is a big plus for me and to be contributing is really important but of course you want to be playing as much as possible as a player.
"You’ve got to train as hard as possible and be ready for when you’re needed.”
Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips have impressed as the midfield combination in Gareth Southgate's 4-2-3-1 formation with the two featuring as the holding duo during the historic win over Germany at Wembley.
Saturday's emphatic performance against Andriy Shevchenko's side reaffirmed England's credentials and turned the hope of the nation up a couple of notches.
Henderson rounded off the scoring shortly after the hour mark with a superb header after a brilliant piece of movement from the Liverpool captain.
He said: "Very happy to get on the scoresheet but most important thing was the performance and the win.
"We managed to do that in a very good performance so really happy, really pleased. Now starting to get ready for the next game."
In behind-the-scenes footage released by England, Henderson paints a relieved figure and says: "Been a long time coming, about time." Before grabbing Manchester United newboy Jadon Sancho in a friendly headlock asking: "What are you laughing at?"
The 31-year-old faces stiff competition going into the match with Denmark on Wednesday but will continue to try and push his way into Southgate's plans for the last four clash.
