Harry Maguire ‘is sure’ Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell WILL be available for Euro 2020 showdown with Germany… with England defender adamant both will be match fit despite training for Wembley clash in isolation
Harry Maguire has revealed he is fully confident that both Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell will be available for selection for England’s Euro 2020 round-of-16 showdown with Germany.
Sportsmail revealed on Sunday that Mount was in contention to start in Gareth Southgate’s side on Tuesday despite him and left-back Chilwell having to train alone for 10 days following Covid self-isolation protocols after being judged to be close contacts of Scotland’s Billy Gilmour, who tested positive for Covid-19.
Both players’ isolation period ends on Monday and there have been questions over whether it is too close to the Germany match for either Mount or Chilwell to feature.
Harry Maguire is ‘sure’ Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell will be available for the Germany match
Ben Chilwell (left) and Mason Mount (right) continued to train in isolation on Saturday
Southgate is thought to still be eager to use the two players, particularly Mount, against Germany, potentially off the substitutes bench.
But England defender Maguire said he was certain both would be available for selection despite the disruption.
‘Well for sure (Mount is) a fit lad, he’s been doing work from a distance and working away from the group,’ Maguire told ITV.
‘It’s (been) disappointing (for both players to miss out) but I’m sure they’ll be available for the game.’
Chilwell was seen working through an ‘individual training programme’ separate from group
The Manchester United captain batted away any concerns over either player’s match fitness, saying they have been working in particular on their conditioning while training away from the group.
‘I’m sure they’ve been doing a lot of running as well because there’s not much you can do when you’re working on your own,’ he said.
‘(Mount’s) fitness will be there for sure. I hope he’s going to be available because he’s a big part of of the team and so is Ben as well.’
Maguire said the Covid disruption gave the team more motivation against the Czech Republic
Maguire did not hide that Mount and Chilwell’s isolation has been a challenging period, but that it gave the team extra motivation going into the final group game.
‘It’s been disappointing for (them). We had to make sure we won the game against Czech Republic to put a smile on their faces,’ he said.
‘I’m sure they were cheering and kicking every ball watching it on TV.’