England could be without SIX major stars for Lee Carsley swansong as Liverpool ace to return
England are without a number of injured stars - including John Stones and Cole Palmer - as Lee Carsley prepares to name his final squad with the Three Lions in need of wins
by John Cross · The MirrorLee Carsley is facing a major injury crisis with up to SIX England regulars already major doubts for this month’s Nations League fixtures.
Stand-in boss Carsley will name his squad on Thursday for the games with Greece and Republic of Ireland and they must win them both to realistically stand a chance of England topping their Group.
England could be without Harry Maguire, Jack Grealish, John Stones, Kobbie Mainoo, Declan Rice and Cole Palmer who are all fitness worries ahead of this weekend.
Maguire is set to miss out with a calf problem, Stones has a foot injury, Mainoo has not played since before the last international break. Grealish is also missing while Rice (foot) and Palmer (knee) are doubts for Sunday’s London derby between Chelsea and Arsenal.
England are likely to include Liverpool ’s in-form Curtis Jones - who got promoted last month - and also Tino Livramento who may be ahead of Newcastle teammate Lewis Hall in the pecking order.
Thomas Tuchel takes over as England boss from January 1 and will have no input into this squad, will not attend either game and is not even going to the World Cup qualifying draw on December 13.
England desperately need to win their Group and face a tough task, having lost to Greece at Wembley last month. But if they end up going into a play-off next March it will only add to next year’s fixture chaos.
FA chiefs must wait to discover how many teams will be in their World Cup qualifying Group and whether they can organise one or two end-of-season friendlies in the United States next June.
FIFA have even yet to confirm details of the World Cup qualifying draw in Geneva next month with national associations in the dark over whether it will be a public event or even if coaches are expected to attend.
England have sold their 3,500 allocation for the game in Athens on November 17 - they play Ireland three days later - and had 10,299 applications.
Meanwhile, Uefa has fined the English FA and the Football Association of Ireland after the national anthems were booed before the Republic of Ireland played England in the Nations League in September.
European football's governing body imposed a £10,500 fine (12,500 euros) on the Football Association (FA) following England fans' booing of Amhran na bhFiann at Aviva Stadium. The FA was also fined £4,150 (5,000 euros) for a supporter coming on to the field of play.
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