Jordan Henderson’s “Leadership Already Having an Effect” for England

There was never any real doubt Jordan Henderson would be named to England’s 26-man Euro squad this week, but with the Liverpool captain only just returning from an extended injury layoff there are questions over the role he will play.

While Henderson may be fit, he’s likely to be some way short of match fit with the Euros set to kick off in less than two weeks, and England manager Gareth Southgate will be eager to see how he and fellow injury returnee Harry Maguire do in their warmup matches.

“The most complex part this time has been those injuries and whether we should take the chance,” Southgate noted. “With Jordan and Harry Maguire, we have a couple of players who are not where we would want them to be ideally.

“Jordan has trained all week so that’s been good. He will be involved in the game tomorrow. His progress is good but we are realistic about what that might look like. Hendo has a bit to do to be available, but his leadership is already having an effect.”

England face Austria today in their first Euros warmup before taking on Romania on Sunday. They then have a final week of training to prepare for their first game of the Euros, which is set for Sunday, June 13th against Croatia.

“We think the experience they have and the fact we can get them to a point where they can have an involvement in the tournament that it’s worth taking them,” Southgate added. “The experienced players are the ones who know how to win.”