Gareth Southgate faces a double dilemma for his England squad over Kyle Walker and Ivan Toney.
Southgate was at Goodison Park last Saturday and ran the rule over Toney, who ordinarily would be a certainty for a call-up for the Euro 2024 qualifiers with Italy and Ukraine. But the in-form Brentford striker is awaiting the outcome of 232 alleged breaches of the Football Association’s betting rules, which could lead to a lengthy ban.
Equally, Manchester City defender Walker, 32, is facing a police probe after videos emerged online of him allegedly exposing himself in a bar 10 days ago. The FA has insisted Walker’s case is a club matter and Southgate is also reluctant to pre-judge Toney ahead of his hearing and punishment.
Toney got an England call-up last September but did not win a cap and Southgate did not take him to the World Cup, but insisted he was not blocked from picking him for Qatar. However, it might have been that Southgate feared the impending case could have been a distraction during the tournament.
Since then, Toney’s form has got even better - he has scored 16 goals in all competitions - and not picking him would almost be an admission on the betting case. Arsenal defender Ben White is set to miss out after returning early from the World Cup and AC Milan defender Fikayo Tomori is likely to get a recall as a reward for his impressive form.
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Southgate, who also watched Brentford’s Rico Henry in their 1-0 defeat at Everton last Saturday, has done a fitness check on several players ahead of the squad announcement on Thursday afternoon.
The demanding schedule after the World Cup is taking its toll and the rising star of the tournament, Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham, has had to wear a big strapping on his left knee in recent weeks.
But despite the fixture pile-up and demands of the season, Southgate is not expecting any sick notes because Italy away - the game is being played in Naples - and Ukraine at Wembley on March 23 and 26 respectively are two of the hardest games in the group.
