Dele Alli was back training today, sprinting and kicking balls, as Gareth Southgate planned ahead for England's final World Cup group game against Belgium.
Alli's availability would be a boost and his participation at England's base in Repino suggests the midfielder is close to recovering from a thigh strain he picked up in the side's opening win against Tunisia.
But with qualification already secured and a strong argument emerging for finishing second rather than first in Group G, Southgate must decide whether key players, including Alli, are in need of a rest or if he sticks to a winning formula.
While the eleven that started Sunday's match against Panama were spared training after their crushing 6-1 win, England's substitutes were put through a running session and did some ball work.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Alli's replacement against Panama, was bright and composed in Nizhny Novgorod, his shot cannoning off Harry Kane and into the net for England's sixth.
But Alli possesses a goal threat that Loftus-Cheek lacks and, crucially, England need if they are to take the burden away from their free-scoring captain.
"It's about the balance of goalscorers in the team," Southgate's assistant Steve Holland said last week.
"Someone told me a long time ago that to have a successful team you need three-and-a-half goalscorers. We've tried to address that."
- Kane threat -
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