England manager Roy Hodgson is confident Daniel Sturridge will take part in Tuesday night's friendly against Germany at Wembley.
The Liverpool striker, who has been carrying a thigh injury, trained with his England team-mates for 45 minutes on Monday morning before he left the training field with physio Steve Kemp.
“He’s fine,” the manager insisted when naming his team later. “Last week he obviously couldn’t take much part in training but his injury, which he brought with him from his club, is improving all the time.
"The reason he came off after two sectors - if you like - of the game we were playing this morning ,was to give Rickie Lambert a chance also playing at centre-forward because there's a good chance, and we want to see him play tomorrow night as well as Daniel Sturridge."
The good news for Hodgson is that captain Steven Gerrard, Lambert and defender Kyle Walker all trained despite missing the defeat to Chile last week through injury.
Jack Wilshere was also present despite suffering a dead calf at Wembley last Friday.
England and Germany meet for the first time since the 2010 World Cup, with Hodgson’s men bidding to show that they have come a long way since that 4-1 last-16 defeat in Bloemfontein.
Hodgson confirmed the team which will be playing on Tuesday night as he named Joe Hart in goal, Walker, Chris Smalling, Phil Jagielka, Ashley Cole, Adam Lallana, Gerrard, Tom Cleverley, Andros Townsend, Wayne Rooney and Sturridge as they look to bounce back from a 2-0 defeat to Chile at Wembley on Friday night.
Lallana keeps his spot after making his debut in the defeat on Friday, while Hodgson confirmed he is fully behind goalkeeper Hart.
For the first home international since 2009, Hart turned up at Wembley on Friday night and took a place on the substitutes’ bench rather than on the pitch.
After a series of blunders for Manchester City, manager Manuel Pellegrini opted to drop the 26-year-old, but Hodgson backed his stopper, saying of the setback at City: “I’m sure he’ll respond very well. It’s not my business, his club football career and he’s a proud man, he’s very pleased to be playing for England and he’s done well for us.
“We’ve had no cause to doubt him during these very important World Cup games we’ve had. In 14 games, we’re unbeaten and he’s only let in seven or eight goals in those 14 and I think he’s entitled to feel confident to pull on the England jersey. We’re all all behind him, we all think he’s a very good goalkeeper and we expect him to play well tomorrow night.”
Since Friday, critics have queued up to dismiss England’s chances of beating their old enemy on Tuesday night but Hodgson believes the changes will spark healthy competition within the squad ahead of next year’s World Cup finals in Brazil
“The competition for places in the squad, that’s how it should be. That’s why I chose two totally different teams against Chile and for the match tomorrow. Choosing the squad is always a challenge. The challenge is making certain we’ve got the right players going to Brazil.
“The competition for the places is quite tough. There are a lot of things to talk about and factor in.”
Hodgson explained his reasons for giving Southampton midfielder Lallana another start against Germany.
“All the games I have been watching him play and my staff watching him play which has resulted in his selection, I think he is one that hasn’t had as much chance to work with the rest of us and show what he can do so it was important that he definitely gets another chance,” Hodgson said. “He plays or is capable of playing in one of the positions where at the moment we are short of personnel because Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Danny Welbeck - three players who have covered that position for us - are missing.
“I’m looking forward to seeing him play again tomorrow night but I was more than satisified with his performance against Chile.”
The match against Germany will also see England skipper Steven Gerrard equal 1966 World Cup-winning England captain Bobby Moore’s 108 international caps.
Hodgson hailed the 33-year-old midfielder for his calm influence over the years.
“He (Gerrard) has brought an enourmous amount over the years but in particular if I’m going to talk about him it’s about us going to the Euros, me coming in at a fairly late stage, really relying on Steven that the ideas and philosophy and the way we wanted it to work got put across to the players and to be that type of leader,” Hodgson said. “There are those leaders we think about who go around screaming and shouting. My idea of a leader is someone like Steven Gerrard who has got clear opinions, is strong in his opinions but basically all of his work is done on the field of play and in the dressing room with the players.
“He, and Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard as excellent deputies, are people who have a very strong influence on the dressing room because everyone looks up to them. For Steven to equal Bobby Moore’s number of caps I’m sure he must be very proud of that because Bobby Moore is one of our iconic players in the past.”
Gerrard, who was sitting alongside Hodgson at the press conference, said of the landmark: “I’m very proud and a bit embarassed as well. We’re talking about a World Cup winner and an iconic figure and someone who was a hero in the country. To equal his record is a fantastic achievement and me and my family are very proud.”
But for Gerrard, a personal milestone still pales into the background with a game against Germany looming, although he denied there is still a score to settle following the 4-1 defeat in the last World Cup in South Africa.
“Every time you play against Germany you want to win the game,” Gerrard said. “I don’t think tomorrow is about revenge or trying to put right what went wrong. We want to win the game and try to improve and try and build on the recent performances against Montenegro and Poland.”
England (v Germany): Hart, Walker, Smalling, Jagielka, Cole, Lallana, Gerrard, Cleverley, Townsend, Rooney, Sturridge.
