Thursday 22 March 2018 22:41, UK
Jack Wilshere has been ruled out of England's friendly with the Netherlands on Friday night in Amsterdam because of a knee injury described as "nothing serious".
The Arsenal midfielder did not travel to Amsterdam with the rest of the squad but manager Gareth Southgate was upbeat on Wilshere's recovery.
Wilshere was hoping to win his first cap in nearly two years in the World Cup warm-up friendlies against Ronald Koeman's Netherlands and Italy having returned to Arsene Wenger's team this season after a spell on loan at Bournemouth in 2016/17.
Southgate said: "It is not a specific injury and over time they flare up and they need to settle down over a couple of days.
"We are hopeful it will settle down pretty quickly. It's an ongoing problem and it's not something new for him. He's very disappointed not to be involved in the game.
"He's trained well though but if you think about the journey he's had in the last two years and his big injuries then he's progressing really well."
Wilshere was last included in an England squad in November 2016, when he was on the bench for games against Scotland and Spain.
His last appearance for his country came in what proved to be Roy Hodgson's last game in charge, with their 2-1 defeat to Iceland seeing them eliminated from Euro 2016.
