Former striker turned pundit Alan Shearer has recently taken the time to hail Manchester United and England defender Harry Maguire.
Following a month of being sidelined due to ligament damage, Maguire, who missed United’s important Europa League final against Villarreal, has been lucky to get back to full fitness in time for England’s Euros 2020 campaign.
Although the United skipper missed the Three Lion’s two opening group matches, he was able to rack up some minutes during his country’s final group match against the Czech Republic earlier this week.
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Having successfully secured qualification through to the Round of Last 16, Gareth Southgate has been offered a boost by both Maguire and Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson’s availability.
Reacting to the recent involvement of Maguire, Shearer, who wrote in his BBC column, said: “On top of that it was important Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson both got some minutes because they are going to play a big part from this point onwards.
“Maguire played the full game on Tuesday and he made us look like a better team all-round – not only was he solid defensively, he also got us on the front foot with some of his forward passing – he was fizzing the ball into Harry Kane, which was really good to see.”
England will now face their biggest test of the competition so far.
Preparing to square off against arch-rivals Germany next Tuesday, Southgate will know that Maguire’s fitness is likely to play a crucial role, especially when it comes to dealing with their opponent’s notoriously physical midfield and backline.