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Five players who could join Fabian Delph on the England sidelines

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Fabian Delph’s groin injury looks like it will force him out of Euro 2016. For him, it must be close to devastating, but in the grand scheme of things, England have far better midfielders and will probably not suffer greatly for his absence. Hodgson took 26 players in his provisional squad, one which will have to be reduced by a few more before decides on his final 23. After two friendlies, things are a little clearer on who might be joining Delph in disappointment.

Danny Drinkwater

Drinkwater was instrumental for Leicester City as they won the Premier League, but that’s true for almost all of their first team, given how few of them were actually used. At Leicester, he had the benefit of working with a squad that has only gradually changed over the last couple of seasons, and the teamwork and resilience that Leicester showed was just as important as their skill. It seems as if for England, the disparate nature of the players, from many different clubs, and his lack of understanding with them might cost him a place in the squad. In his games for England he hasn’t disgraced himself, but Jordan Henderson, Jack Wilshere and Eric Dier seem more assured at this level for now.

Daniel Sturridge

The concerns are not so much about his ability but, as ever, that he doesn’t have the fitness to be relied upon. Over the course of the season, Sturridge is worth keeping around for the times when he is fully fit and confident, even if he may miss half of the season (at least). However, when it comes to the Euros it should be remembered that Sturridge rarely seems to miss just one game at a time, but several. With other options on the wing and in attack, then the need to include Sturridge has faded over the course of the season and perhaps decisively yesterday, and he has played only a handful of minutes for England in the last two years.

Adam Lallana doesn’t have the talent of Sturridge, but he is more likely not to break down, and his time with Jurgen Klopp has brought him back to something like the player he was at Southampton. Raheem Sterling might have struggled with Manchester City, but that was by his own standards and in the mixture of complete doss and extensive misery-fest that was Manuel Pellegrini’s last season at City, so he may improve while with England. Marcus Rashford, Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane all mean that Sturridge isn’t needed up front.

Tom Heaton

For a handful of matches, there’s little point taking a third goalkeeper, especially one who has spent last season in the Championship. The odds of two injuries to Joe Hart and Fraser Forster are so slim as not to be worth considering. In all likelihood, England will come second or third in their qualification group and go out in the first or second knock-out round. Do you really need three goalkeepers for five matches? England have proved themselves incapable of proper international success for so long that it doesn’t really matter if this time it ends because Wayne Rooney has to go in goal.

Ross Barkley

There’s almost no chance that he will have an important role to play at Euro 2016. He is one of England’s best young players, but he still plays as such. At 22, he remains inconsistent and his decision making is suspect. For all his technical ability, too, he sometimes appears to have not quite got the hang of of nimbly or forcefully using his large frame. In time, England and Everton fans will hope that he gains control of his brain and body more regularly, and can then focus on sharpening his skills. He has consistently been a member of the qualification squad with England, but the emergence of Dele Alli, and the need to fit Rooney in somewhere, or anywhere, means he might be one of the least controversial omissions for Hodgson to make.

All is already the most exciting young player in the team, even more assured that Marcus Rashford. He teams up well with England’s best striker, Harry Kane. There’s no way Hodgson can leave him out of the squad, if he’s being sensible. And Rooney might have left it to the very end of the season, but in the FA Cup he put in one of his best performances for Manchester United in years. Conversely, Barkley has struggled with Everton’s poor season.

Andros Townsend

He might have impressed in a brief cameo, but that’s what Townsend does. As a substitute, his speed looks even more electric, and he is able to engineer plenty of space for himself to cut in from the right and wallop a shot at goal. 99 times out of 100 the shot hits a defender or flies miles wide, but every so often (1 time out of 100, I hear maths fans cry), it goes into the top corner, and he looks like a balding version of Lionel Messi. If Townsend could score those kinds of goals more often, or provide reliable crosses, then he would absolutely be worth taking to France. But as a limited player, most suited to 4-4-2, there seems to be no point taking him in a squad built for 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3. It’s not his fault Hodgson keeps picking him, but he really should not be under consideration.