Deli Ali could be an injury problem for England after he suffered what appeared to be an injury to his quadriceps as Harry Kane's two goals gave his side a late-but deserved 2-1 win against Tunisia in Volgograd late on Monday night.

Ali played for 80 minutes before being replaced by the impressive Ruben Loftus Cheek, but earlier in the game had looked to be struggling with the problem, with Fabian Delph warming up before halftime.

"Hopefully, I am OK, it's my quad," said Ali after the match, while England coach Gareth Southgate played down any worries.

"We had to keep monitoring Dele: he was feeling a bit of an issue before halftime, but felt he could carry on. The runs he was making were still causing problems," said Southgate.

Ali's connection with his Tottenham Hotspurs club-mate Harry Kane help make him important to England, but Southgate highlighted that England have alternatives if the injury proves serious enough to keep Ali out of England's second group G game against Panama in Nizihni Novogorod on June 24th.

"We had good options on the bench. The freshness of Marcos Rashford and Ruben Loftus Cheek brought energy and a different threat to the ones we posed and they had a good impact on the game," said Southgate in his post game press conference on Monday night.

Indeed after their performances as substitutes, there are already some who think Rashford and Loftus Cheek should start against Panama anyhow, with Ali and the frustrating Raheem Sterling dropping to the subs' bench. 

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)