Daniel Sturridge set for England return after 573 day absence

Daniel Sturridge will make his first England appearance for 573 days against Holland at Wembley on Tuesday with Roy Hodgson warning both the Liverpool striker and Danny Welbeck that they must prove they have returned to full fitness over what remains of the domestic season if they are to make the squad for the European Championship finals the summer.

Hodgson has cast doubt on his initial intention to make wholesale changes to his lineup after the hugely encouraging victory against the world champions, Germany, on Saturday but he is still expected to offer game-time to those players who did not start in Berlin. James Milner will captain the side, Fraser Forster begins in goal after Jack Butland cruelly broke his ankle at the Olympiastadion and Sturridge will gain his 17th cap.

It will be his first since a friendly against Norway in September 2014, his impact in the period since having been nullified by various hip, knee, hamstring and ankle problems which have served to check his career. The first of those had been picked up in training at St George’s Park two days after the Norway fixture, prompting complaints from Liverpool that England had not granted him enough time to recover, though the FA’s medical staff at the time were satisfied they had done nothing wrong.

Sturridge has made eight appearances for the club since mid-February, though it serves as a reminder of the hiatus his career has endured that, the last time the forward ran out for his country, Harry Kane had only six Premier League starts to his name and Jamie Vardy none at all. That pair scored in Germany on Saturday and, with 40 Premier League goals between them this season, appear to have edged ahead of Sturridge in the pecking order in the absence of the injured captain, Wayne Rooney.

“Things have changed enormously in terms of our squad, and how we’ve been looking to play, since the World Cup,” said Hodgson, whose front line at those finals in Brazil had arguably been built around Sturridge. “There’s no carryover for Daniel. It’s about what he’s been doing for Liverpool or for us in training and with us. That’s what counts.

“We’re pleased to have another quality player like him available and knocking on the door, trying to make it clear he should be the first name on the teamsheet. All I can do is give him the opportunity and hope that he continues to get those with his club side and more games behind him. After all, he hasn’t had too many in the last few years.

“It’s been a lot more frustrating for him than for me. It must have been enormously frustrating but he’s not carried that frustration with him into the last seven or eight days he’s been with us. He’s back to the player he was: that ability to manipulate the ball, his footwork and close control in tight situations, his acceleration and striking ability ... that’s all still there.”

Welbeck, excellent against Germany, missed almost 10 months with a knee injury – he underwent surgery in September despite an initial diagnosis of bruising on the bone back in April – and is still on a specialist training schedule as he regains match fitness. That limits the amount of work he can do after games and he worked on his own at Tottenham’s Enfield base for a period on Monday. The Arsenal forward must still demonstrate he is fully fit to feature at Euro 2016, where England will play three group games in nine days.

Asked specifically about the two forwards, Hodgson said: “There’s an element of risk taking any players who have a history of injury. I can’t deny that. I can’t deny either that we have to put all factors into the equation when making a final decision. But I don’t see any reason at the moment to doubt the pair of them, or their ability and capacity to challenge and show us they’re the best people for the job.

“The next few weeks are important for those two because I’d like to see them get a bit more match play and fitness under their belts. I’d like people like Daniel and Danny to make certain they get as big a buildup as is possible in terms of fitness, conditioning and match-play over the weeks that remain of the season to convince me they are once again at the very height of their powers.”

The game against Holland, a sell-out, will be the last England play before Hodgson names his 23-man squad, plus seven stand-by players, on May 12th for Euro 2016. The final list has to be submitted to Uefa on May 31st. “It will be their last opportunity to show me what they can do in an England shirt in front of me as manager of the England team, but there is a lot of monitoring that we will continue to do in the remainder of the season,” Hodgson said. “We intend to collate a lot of information supplied to us about their training sessions in the clubs over the next few weeks as well. In three or four weeks’ time I’ll be meeting up with my technical and medical staff and asking questions about these players, and we’ll know better where we are.”

(Guardian service)