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Harry Maguire has declared himself fit and ready to play for England against Scotland on Friday night.
The 28-year-old has not featured for club or country since injuring his ankle during Manchester United‘s 3-1 win at Aston Villa on May 9.
England boss Gareth Southgate gambled on Maguire recovering in time to play some part at Euro 2020 and the defender is now taking part in training with the squad having missed last weekend’s Group D win against Croatia.
– Euro 2020 on ESPN: Stream LIVE games and replays (U.S. only)
Centre-backs Tyrone Mings and John Stones kept a clean sheet as England won 1-0, but Maguire is pushing to return after overcoming a “high ankle sprain” with scans confirming no serious damage.
“I feel good,” Maguire said. “I’ve been training now. Obviously the injury was a setback, club-football wise. Internationally, I wanted to come into this with a lot of games under my belt with full fitness, but I feel good. I’m back available, been training and I’m looking forward to it [facing Scotland].
“Obviously it’s a big game. I’ve done a few sessions now and feel like my fitness is there, so like I say, I’m available for the game.”
Maguire revealed he had feared missing out on Euro 2020 altogether after having to watch from the sidelines as United lost the Europa League final on penalties to Villarreal, but he insisted it would not be a gamble if Southgate included him against Scotland.
“I don’t feel like there is any risk,” said Maguire, who sustained the problem during an accidental collision with Villa winger Anwar El Ghazi. “Obviously, with any injury, you are coming back from … you haven’t played for so long, recurrences don’t very often happen but they can happen — that’s part and parcel of football.
“You can come back and I could pick up another injury in another part of my body, so I think the risk of playing and picking up an injury is just there when you play competitive football.
“In terms of the ankle, I feel like it’s stable and I feel like I’m ready to go. I feel fit and fresh.
“I knew the extent of the injury as soon as I got injured, I knew it was going to be pretty serious because it didn’t come from impact or contact.
“I knew it was a twist straight away so there would be some sort of ligament damage in there. Obviously you fear the worst. I feared missing the Europa League final and then obviously the Euros as well. I managed to make this squad, I wasn’t able to make the Europa League final. But I’m here now and ready to go.”
Maguire’s United teammate Marcus Rashford is also hoping to feature against Scotland, but he admitted he has been playing with pain during matches for some time.
ESPN revealed in April that the 23-year-old has been managing foot and shoulder problems for two years and Rashford said: “I understand my body well and it has been a while for me without playing with things that hold you back in some way.
“But it is the last push for this season and then we get some time off. I am just concentrating on giving everything that I can while I’m here with the team.”