Rashford in injury doubt ahead of England's opener vs Tunisia

Young striker Marcos Rashford has emerged as an injury doubt ahead of England's World Cup opening match against Tunisia on June 18 after coach Gareth Southgate said he had suffered a "slight knock" in a training session.

The England side arrived in St Petersburg on Tuesday afternoon after a positive warm-up to the World Cup, which saw them draw with Germany and Brazil in March and defeat Nigeria and Costa Rica in early June, reports Xinhua news agency.

Rashford scored a splendid goal to open the scoring against Costa Rica to stake a strong claim to accompany Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling in attack, but his chances may have suffered a minor setback.

"Marcos had a slight knock, although it is not too serious, we will have a look at that before the next training session," commented Southgate, who added England had no further injury worries and that he was "really pleased" with the work the squad had done before flying to Russia.

England will look to get off to a flying start against Tunisia, who they met in their opening game in the 1998 World Cup, defeating the African side 2-0 in France.

With Belgium the favourites to win Group G and Panama expected to struggle, the match could be vital for the hopes of both England and Tunisia to qualify for the last 16 in the tournament. The victory will also help calm down an ever-sceptical English press.

--IANS

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