John Stones has handed a major boost to England by returning to training on Thursday after recovering from illness.
The Manchester City defender was quarantined on Wednesday to prevent his sickness from his Three Lions team-mates.
Stones was considered a doubt to start their Euro 2024 opener against Serbia on Sunday, with Lewis Dunk waiting on standby.
But the 30-year-old, the most experienced defender in Gareth Southgate’s squad, looks to have shrugged off the bug three days before their campaign gets started.
He was part of a the full 26-player group who trained in Blankenhain on Thursday morning.
The full #ThreeLions squad are out at training this morning 👊
3️⃣ days to go until we take on Serbia! pic.twitter.com/HWvIVFIKL6
— England (@England) June 13, 2024
Defensive boost for England
Southgate is already without Harry Maguire due to injury, so having the 72-cap international at his disposal is a major positive.
Fitness was however an issue throughout the 2023-24 campaign for City.
The centre-back featured only 16 times in the Premier League, starting only one of their final 10 encounters of their run-in to a fourth successive title.
Luke Shaw also continued to step up his recovery, training for third straight day with hopes the left-back will be fit for the second game against Denmark.
