Major England boost ahead of Euro 2024 opener with John Stones out of quarantine and back in training with full squad

JOHN STONES is back in training ahead of England’s clash with Serbia.

The Three Lions kick-off their Euro 2024 campaign on Sunday night, with the centre-back a doubt for the game.

GettyJohn Stones is back in training[/caption]

But Stones could now be in contention to start after re-joining the rest of the squad for training today.

The 30-year-old missed yesterday’s session due to illness.

And to stop him from passing a bug onto team-mates, Stones has been confined to his room in quarantine.

FA protocols force an unwell player to stay away from the rest of the squad.

Reports suggest that despite Stones’ return, he may not be rushed back for the full 90 minutes against Serbia.

The Manchester City star has struggled for game time recently, playing an entire match just once in the last two months.

It leaves Gareth Southgate with a headache at centre-back as Harry Maguire did not make the squad due to injury.

Marc Guehi is set to start alongside one of Lewis Dunk, Ezri Konsa and Joe Gomez.

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England‘s defensive dilemmas continue at left-back as Luke Shaw is set to miss the clash against Serbia.

However, the Manchester United star is due back for the second game against Denmark a week today.

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Jack Wilshere’s England XI vs Serbia

SunSport columnist Jack Wilshere wants Engand to start with just one holding midfielder – Declan Rice.

That means playing Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham in attacking midfield roles, with Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka on the wings, either side of Harry Kane up top.

Wilshere said: “In the group stage against teams we should beat, we can  afford to be more expansive, let’s attack.

“It wasn’t that long ago we were saying we didn’t have the Spanish-type of players who can dominate the ball, now we have.

“So let’s try to utilise that, dominate the ball and go for goals.”

And the ex-England midfielder wants Trent Alexander-Arnold to get the nod at right-back, with Kyle Walker centre-back.

He added: “If you play Trent at right-back and he drifts in midfield, he can switch the play at speed. Walker’s pace will get you out of trouble.”

Read more from Jack Wilshere during Euro 2024.