England may have suffered a nightmare blow just nine days before they start their 2022 World Cup campaign in Qatar. Leicester City midfielder James Maddison was forced off injured in the 25th minute after opening the scoring against West Ham United.
Maddison realised his childhood dream on Thursday as Gareth Southgate rewarded his sensational form with a call-up to England’s World Cup squad. And his impressive exploits continued at the start of this afternoon’s Premier League clash at West Ham, opening the scoring after eight minutes.
However, the 25-year-old was brought back down to earth less than 20 minutes later after going down off the ball with an apparent hamstring or knee injury. Robbie Savage, appearing on BT Sport Score, admitted ‘this is bad’ as he limped off at the London Stadium.
Southgate, Maddison and England fans now face a nervous wait to learn about the in-form attacking midfielder’s condition. The Three Lions face Iran on Monday, November 21, and he would’ve hoped to have been in contention to break into the starting line-up. However, he has now joined the list of injury worries.
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Maddison has been in inspired form this season, helping Brendan Rodgers turn Leicester’s horrendous early form around. The Foxes playmaker has scored seven goals and provided four assists in 13 Premier League games, including five goals and three assists in his last eight.
After his call-up, Maddison took to social media to express his delight, accompanying his reaction with an image of him as a child donning a huge grin and England face paint. He wrote: “It hasn’t sunk in… I’m going to The World Cup. Dreams really do come true.”
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Southgate described Maddison as ‘exceptional’ when explaining his 26-man selection and will be hoping and praying he can link up with the rest of the squad next week. Declan Rice also suffered a scare when he went down earlier in the game, but the crucial midfielder has continued.
Every international manager will be nervously watching the final domestic action unfold this weekend on the eve of the Qatar showcase. And not many more will be as anxious as Southgate, who could have a difficult decision to make in the coming days.
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