Henderson, Vardy ready to face Croatia in World Cup semifinal

England's central midfielder Jordan Henderson and striker Jamie Vardy on Tuesday attended the English squad's last training session prior to their crucial semifinal match against Croatia in the FIFA world cup 2018

Henderson, the Liverpool City captain and midfielder, who injured his hamstring during the quarter-final match against Sweden, has recovered enough to play on England's starting-eleven formation versus Croatia's Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic, reports Efe.

On the other hand, Leicester City striker, Vardy, who has now recovered from a groin injury suffered during the round-of-16 match versus Colombia, will probably watch the kick-off from the sidelines, on the bench, unless England's manager Gareth Southgate requires him to jump onto the playing field. Vardy tweeted his followers a brief: "Good to be back training with the lads."

In line with the "Three Lions" tradition, the final training session before the match took place at their Zelenogorsk headquarters, a small town located 50 km North of Saint Petersburg.

The training session was characterized by a good deal of players' laughter and banter as England's team faces its first semifinal in 28 years. England had won the world cup 52 years ago, in 1966.

The English team will travel to Moscow after lunch and remain at Luzhniki stadium.

--IANS

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