'That's the problem': Former England star says 'overlooked' Newcastle man to miss out on Euros

 · May 7 2024, 19:30
'That's the problem': Former England star says 'overlooked' Newcastle man to miss out on Euros
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Newcastle United have a few players who will be hoping to be on that England plane to Germany this summer for Euro 2024.

Kieran Trippier is facing a race against time to recover his fitness in order to be included in Gareth Southgate's squad and with just three Premier League games remaining, he's cutting it fine to prove that he is back up to speed. Although, taking injured players to tournaments isn't something that's beyond Southgate. Sorry, I just have to get a Southgate dig in when I can.

Anthony Gordon had to wait a while before getting the nod to represent his country despite being consistently one of the Premier League's top performers, but he seized his opportunity and it would be insane for Southgate to ignore him now. Especially following confirmation that the squad size for the Euros has increased to 26 players from 23.

The other hopeful is of course Callum Wilson who, once again, has had an injury-hit season, but when he's fit and playing, he's inevitably scoring and that makes him a prospect for Southgate's squad.

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Foster fears Wilson's injuries could keep him out of the England squad

Ben Foster, who has eight caps for England under his belt, has suggested on his Football Fill-In Podcast, that Wilson has been overlooked for England, but also feels that his injury record could go against him.

“I think Callum Wilson has always kind of just been a little bit overlooked just because of his injury record. And the thing is for Newcastle, they kind of work his week so that he is ready for the game on Saturday. He probably has a bit of a down week really, sort of rests and recovers because he is very susceptible to injuries and I think that’s the problem when it comes to England.

“The players that aren’t going to be on the pitch on the Saturday afternoon or 3 o’clock kickoff or whenever it comes, you need the rest of that squad, the rest of them players to be at it, you need them every day to be at it in training to keep all the morale going, to keep the standards high, and I just worry that Callum Wilson won’t be able to do that for Gareth Southgate.”
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Wilson was complete horseradish after the Qatar World Cup

It's a reasonable concern by Foster, especially from a Newcastle point-of-view given how long it took Wilson to recover after being part of the England squad that went to the Qatar World Cup.

It definitely felt like his training regime wasn't followed out there and Wilson's loss of form after he returned was shocking and it took him ages to get back up to speed.

We obviously hope that all three of our lads get the call, it gives us a vested interest in the tournament, a reason to endure the slog that is watching a Gareth Southgate England side play.

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