World Cup injury news: England star James Maddison ruled out of opener

James Maddison fought hard for the biggest England call-up of his life.

All England players will be quick to tell you how proud they are to be playing in the World Cup. But none mean it more than James Maddison – the Leicester midfielder is the epitome of hard work and never giving up on what you want.

Leading up to the World Cup, before Southgate announced his final squad, many people were rooting for Maddison to get the call – myself included. Maddison is one of the more technically-gifted players in the Premier League but the reason he is at the top of his game is down to his sheer hard work.

According to a report from TalkSport, James Maddison has suffered a setback in terms of a knee injury which will see him ruled out of the opener against Iran on Monday. It is thought he will not even feature from the bench.

This is bad, bad news for England and Leicester fans. While he wasn’t expected to start every game under Southgate, to be ruled out this early on does not fill me with plenty of promise.

The good news is, though, Iran are England’s easiest opponents in the group stage. If Maddison uses this game to rest up and continues hard in training, he will certainly be in with a shout of getting the nod in the Three Lions’ next match.

Leicester have had an extremely difficult time of things in the Premier League. They started the season rock-bottom, but have used their grit and determination to move up to 13th in the league heading into this World Cup break. Four wins in their last five games, they largely have Maddison to thank.

So, it is confirmed, you can rule Maddison out of your predictions for England’s openers. However, let’s hope the midfielder will play a big part in the following fixtures.