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Reuters
Reuters
Sport
Simon Evans

Thigh injury prevents England's Alli from training

Soccer Football - World Cup - Group G - Tunisia vs England - Volgograd Arena, Volgograd, Russia - June 18, 2018 England's Dele Alli in action REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

REPINO, Russia (Reuters) - England attacking midfielder Dele Alli missed training on Thursday as he bids to recover from a thigh injury for the side's second World Cup Group G game against Panama.

The Tottenham Hotspur player picked up the knock during the 2-1 win over Tunisia on Monday and Alli said he was working to get back to full fitness.

Soccer Football - World Cup - England Training - England Training Camp, Saint Petersburg, Russia - June 21, 2018 England manager Gareth Southgate during training REUTERS/Lee Smith

"Frustrating to have picked up a slight injury on Monday. Will do everything in my power to get back to full fitness asap," he wrote on Twitter.

England face Panama in Nizhny Novgorod on Sunday before completing the pool phase against Belgium in Kaliningrad next Thursday.

Should Alli not recover in time then Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who impressed as a late substitute against Tunisia could be in line for a starting place.

Soccer Football - World Cup - England Training - England Training Camp, Saint Petersburg, Russia - June 21, 2018 England's Marcus Rashford during training REUTERS/Lee Smith

Other options could be Fabian Delph, in a more orthodox midfield role, or Marcus Rashford, who also made an impact as a substitute in Volgograd and would give the side a more offensive balance.

England manager Gareth Southgate was on the field for the session and not wearing a sling after dislocating his shoulder.

Southgate suffered the injury while out running on Wednesday and wore a sling at a team meeting later that day.

The England boss was treated at a nearby hospital under the supervision of team doctor Rob Chakraverty.

(Reporting by Simon Evans in St Petersburg; Editing by John O'Brien and Ed Osmond)

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