Only four days before their World Cup opener against Iran, James Maddison did not show up to England’s morning training session in Doha.
Leicester’s Maddison is being monitored by England’s medical staff, so he missed Thursday’s practice and did not travel with the team.
On Saturday, Leicester’s win over West Ham was cut short when Maddison left with a knee injury. It was decided that the midfielder wouldn’t participate in England’s second practice at the Al Wakrah Sports Complex.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Maddison said that he has been having knee problems for the past week, but that a scan on Sunday showed that there was no major problem.
Before our first meeting, we both went in for a scan. In this case, the scan came back positive. I had a minor issue the week before our game against West Ham and the week after our game against Everton.
Even though the World Cup was going on, I still wanted to play. I’m not like that at all.
Maddison has been fantastic for Leicester this season, as he has contributed to seven goals and four assists in the Premier League.
Those stats got him called back into the England lineup three years after he had last played for the national team for the World Cup.
The remaining 25 members of Gareth Southgate’s squad were given rigorous training in temperatures of 33 degrees Celsius in Qatar as the Three Lions continue to prepare for their opening match.