England manager Gareth Southgate has received a significant boost with the return of John Stones to training ahead of their Euro 2024 opener against Serbia on Sunday. Stones had been a major doubt for the Group C fixture due to an ankle injury sustained in last week’s friendly defeat against Iceland at Wembley. Although he rejoined training in Germany on Tuesday, Stones missed Wednesday’s session due to illness. However, he was back on the field in Blankenhain on Thursday morning, along with the rest of Southgate’s 26-man squad.
Stones’ participation is crucial as he has played limited minutes for Manchester City towards the end of the domestic season. He started only one of City’s final ten Premier League matches and missed England’s warm-up friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina to recover from the FA Cup final defeat by Manchester United. Despite these concerns, Stones is expected to start as the senior centre-back against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen. The contenders to partner him are Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa, and Lewis Dunk.
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Football Association (FA) chief executive Mark Bullingham has confirmed that there is a succession plan in place for life after Gareth Southgate, although no approaches have been made by clubs for the England boss. Southgate’s contract with England expires in December, and he has indicated that he will delay discussions about his future until after the tournament. In a recent interview with Bild, Southgate hinted that he might step down if England fails to win the Euro 2024 trophy.
Despite persistent links with Manchester United, Southgate has focused on his national team duties. Erik ten Hag has been backed to continue his role as United manager into the new season, but co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS team are known to view Southgate as a potential future manager for the Old Trafford club.
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