England coach Roy Hodgson is poised to drop Jamie Vardy from England’s opening Euro 2016 group game against Russia tomorrow night according to London Evening Standard.
Adam Lallana and Raheem Sterling are in line to start next to Tottenham striker Harry Kane in a 4-3-3 formation instead.
Vardy is set to pay a heavy price for a poor performance in the final warm-up game against Portugal last week, where he had just eight touches of the ball.
The 29-year-old has also been distracted during the build-up as he mulls over a possible transfer from Leicester to Arsenal.
Standard Sport revealed yesterday that Vardy has been talking to his England team-mates about his decision and is likely to reject the £20m switch.
Hodgson revealed before the tournament that he wanted the players to be fully focussed on the tournament rather than any possible transfers and it may have influenced his decision regarding the Leicester star’s involvement.
Captain Wayne Rooney has been tried out in a number of positions during practice sessions at the team’s Chantilly base and is most likely to be played in midfield, along with Eric Dier and Dele Alli.
That would mean Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere misses out having tried to prove he’s fully fit after missing most of the season with a broken leg.
It is understood that Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson, who suffered a knee injury late in the season, is not being considered for a starting role, while Liverpool team-mate James Milner is also set to be on the bench.
Hodgson still has time to adapt his plans with one more training session to be held on Friday morning before the team fly to Marseille this afternoon.
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