John Stones will captain England against Greece at Wembley on Thursday, with interim boss Lee Carsley revealing usual skipper Harry Kane will begin on the bench due to a “small knock”.
Kane limped out of Bayern Munich’s final fixture before the international break and has trained away from the main group of England players over the past two days as they prepare for the Nations League fixture. This will be the first time Stones has captained the team since the start of a match.
“Harry is nursing an injury, a small knock, something we won’t take a chance with,” said Carsley.
“It was a great conversation I was able to have with John to ask him to captain the team. It’s a brilliant achievement, something he deserves with the amount of caps he’s got, the experience he’s got, the level of professionalism he’s shown, the example he is to young players.”
Carsley later confirmed Kane could still play a part against Greece and would be in the running to face Finland on Sunday.
Stones – who will lead the team out on his 82nd appearance for his country – said: “It’s everything I could have dreamed of as a kid. More for my family, to be able to see me walk out as England captain is a special moment. One I can’t thank Lee enough for. An incredible moment for me.
“To be walking out with the armband on is an absolute honour and a moment I’ll cherish forever.”
Kane continued his individual training programme on Wednesday but Jack Grealish missed the session with what Carsley called a “slight knock”.
“We’ll assess Jack later,” said the interim boss. “Our attitude would be we wouldn’t gamble with any of the players. It’s important we put them first rather than ourselves.”
England called up Curtis Jones and Tino Livramento to boost training numbers but in the pre-match press conference there was plenty of focus on in-form Cole Palmer and what role the Chelsea forward could play on Thursday.
“Cole is in fantastic form. He’s carried that into this week,” said Carsley. “Such an exciting player, a player I’ve worked with for four, five years now.
“Cole, along with a lot of other attacking players who have put themselves into a great position to start the game.”
Carsley hinted Palmer could also link-up with club team-mate Noni Madueke for England this week. “Cole was injured in the first camp but to see him and Noni playing so well at Chelsea is brilliant for us and definitely something we’re looking at,” he said.
“We’ve got a lot of options to choose from in terms of our attacking players. It’s important we find that balance. We have a lot of options and hopefully we can get a really attacking performance. We have to get the combinations right and pick the right team.”
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Pete Smith and Dougie Critchley explain why Phil Foden could miss out on England’s starting 11 with Anthony Gordon and Cole Palmer finding early season form
Stones: I was sad to see Palmer leave City – and told him that!
John Stones on Cole Palmer leaving Man City for Chelsea in the summer of 2023:
“I was a huge fan of Cole as soon as he came into our first-team set-up. What he brought to the game, how he played as if he was in the park.
“I was sad to see him leave and made him aware of that. But what he’s gone on and done is credit to him, how he’s conducted himself and stepped up in big moments. He’s in a good moment and I hope that continues for as long as possible.
“He’s scored in a final, he’s experienced those big games and big moments and hopefully there’s more of that to come.”
