England stars return to training with James Maddison OUT but Kyle Walker closing in on return against USA

ENGLAND’S players returned to training following their huge 6-2 win over Iran in their opening World Cup match.

But James Maddison still didn’t feature as he continues his recovery from a knee injury.

Jack Grealish was in training after netting for England yesterday while Kyle Walker (right) will be a welcome sight for Three Lions supportersRichard Pelham / The Sun

ReutersJames Maddison is not yet ready to return to training[/caption]

Maddison was a last minute call-up from Gareth Southgate but was not cleared to feature against the Iranians after undergoing a scan.

Kyle Walker was also absent from the fixture having not played since being forced off injured in Man City’s 6-3 win over Man Utd on October 2.

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Southgate confirmed before the Iran match that Walker was back in training, but stated that the opening game had come “a little bit early ” for him.

However, he added that the Man City ace was still in line to return ahead of schedule.

Grealish scored England’s sixth goal after a generous assist from Callum Wilson, who did not trainRichard Pelham / The Sun

Kalvin Phillips also trained having been declared fit by Gareth Southgate as he steps up his return from injuryRichard Pelham / The Sun

PAMarcus Rashford in training after opening his World Cup 2022 account just seconds after coming on against Iran[/caption]

GettyApart from Maddison, Callum Wilson was the only England non-starter not to feature in today’s warm-down session[/caption]

The England boss said on Sunday: “In terms of player availability, everybody’s available bar James Maddison for tomorrow [against Iran].

“It’s a little bit early for Kyle Walker but he is training with the team, so that’s ahead of where we thought he might be at this stage. Very positive.”

None of the England starting line-up that faced Iran were involved in training.

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But goalscorers Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish both featured, along with Walker’s Man City team-mate Kalvin Phillips, who recently recovered from injury to make the bench against the Iranians.

Callum Wilson, who generously assisted Grealish’s goal, was the only England star other than Maddison who did not start the game and did not feature in today’s training session.