England U21s: Injury worries for Nathan Redmond and Nathaniel Chalobah
- Published
Chelsea midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah has made one Premier League start for the Blues
England Under-21 pair Nathan Redmond and Nathaniel Chalobah will be assessed over the weekend to see if they have a chance of playing in Tuesday's European Championship semi-final.
Southampton forward Redmond and Chelsea midfielder Chalobah went off in the first half of the 3-0 win over Poland.
Manager Aidy Boothroyd said: "They have been massive for us, in qualifying and here. We will see how they are."
The England squad travelled from Kielce to Krakow on Friday.
Chalobah lasted 39 minutes before limping off with a groin injury, while Redmond was replaced at half-time with an unspecified problem.
Derby midfielder Will Hughes - who is set to join Watford for £8m - replaced Chalobah, while Norwich winger Jacob Murphy came on for Redmond in attack, scoring the second goal.
"Nathaniel felt a little bit stiff around his groin and we felt it best to bring him off, we didn't want to make it any worse," added Boothroyd.
"Redmond was the same, we just felt that if he had kept going he might have done some real damage.
"We have five days now and I want all 23 players available for the semi-final. Over to you, medics."
After replacing Nathan Redmond at half-time Jacob Murphy scored England's second goal
England were facing elimination at half-time of their second game against Slovakia but came from behind to win, and were always in control against the hosts Poland once Demarai Gray had hit a sixth-minute opener.
Boothroyd is now in confident mood ahead of Tuesday's semi-final, even though England will not learn who their opponents will be until Saturday.
"It's a great moment," the former Watford manager said. "After the first game which was a draw it was a bit doom and gloom but we have a good group here and got the two wins that we needed.
"It was a high-pressure game, if we hadn't won then we would have been out.
"We carried out the game plan to a T. We controlled the game and played really well."
Analysis
Senior football reporter Ian Dennis in Kielce:
If it wasn't for the two injuries to Chalobah and Redmond then this would be the perfect evening for Aidy Boothroyd.
James Ward-Prowse had said that he felt England could go to another level and the captain was spot on as England produced their best display of the championship.
England were assured, creative and totally dominant to gain an emphatic victory, the margin of which would have been far greater had it not been for Jakub Wrabel, the Poland goalkeeper.
England would have faced criticism had they made another exit so it is only right to acknowledge the achievement of finishing as group winners.
Sixteen of this squad helped England win the Toulon tournament for the first time in 22 years last summer so there is a togetherness that exists and confidence is growing.
Momentum is everything in tournament football.
- Published22 June 2017
- Published14 June 2017
