England manager Gareth Southgate has confirmed that Manchester City defender Kyle Walker will miss the Three Lions’ opening World Cup match against Iran on Monday. The City right-back has missed the last six matches for Pep Guardiola’s side, but was still included in the 26-man squad, with Walker expected to return towards the latter stages of the group phase. Southgate also confirmed that Leicester City midfielder James Maddison would be absent for the game on Monday through injury. Speaking to the press on Sunday, as per the Press Association,
Gareth Southgate said: “In terms of player availability, everybody’s available bar James Maddison for tomorrow. It’s a little bit early for Kyle Walker but he is training with the team, so that’s ahead of where we thought he might be at this stage. Very positive. We’re looking forward to this challenge and I’ve really liked the way the players have approached training this week.”
The Three Lions boss also confirmed that the England players will take a knee before the match against Iran, with the squad having agreed on the decision as a group.
Gareth Southgate added: “We have discussed taking a knee. We feel we should. It’s what we stand for as a team and have done for a long period of time. We understand in the Premier League that the clubs have decided to only do that for certain games, big occasions. We feel this is the biggest and we think it’s a strong statement that will go around the world for young people, in particular, to see that inclusivity is very important.”
Walker has made just eight appearances for City so far this season, with the defender yet to feature for Guardiola’s side in the Champions League this term.
