James Maddison has given England a World Cup injury scare after being forced off before half-time in Leicester’s Premier League meeting with West Ham on Saturday.
Maddison, who was named in Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad for Qatar on Thursday, opened the scoring during the game at the London Stadium but then went down with what appeared to be an ankle problem and was replaced by Marc Albrighton.
Maddison was able to walk from the field unaided and was serenaded by chants of “England’s No10” by the away end, but Southgate now faces a nervy wait to fight out the extent of the issue.
Maddison has been capped just once by England, way back in 2019, but his form for the Foxes this season has seen him force his way back into Southgate’s thinking.
“He’s playing exceptionally well, we like the fact he finds those pockets of space, he gets turned and plays forward,” Southgate said, explaining Maddison’s call-up. “Not enough players do that in this day and age.
"His set-piece delivery is outstanding, and he can score goals from distance. Against low-block defences, that is another attribute which is a little bit different to some of our other players."
