Harry Maguire Returns To England Training Ahead Of European Championship Opener Against Croatia

In a huge boost to Gareth Southgate's plans, Harry Maguire has returned to England training ahead of their European Championship opener against Croatia.

The 28-year-old centre-back has been working tirelessly in a bid to appear in this summer's tournament - and it looks increasingly promising that he will feature in the coming weeks.

Maguire was pictured in training alongside his teammates on Thursday morning as he looks to get back to full fitness.

The Manchester United captain, who picked up an ankle injury against Aston Villa at the start of May, missed the club's remaining five matches of the campaign, including the Europa League final defeat to Villarreal.

Before being ruled out for a number of weeks because of an ankle injury last month, Maguire had not missed a single minute of Premier League action for United.

But it looks like he is finally on the road to recovery as Gareth Southgate makes his final plans for Sunday's clash against 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia.

Maguire has recently opened up about the fears he had when suffering the ankle problem on May 9.

"The fear that I had was missing everything," he told The Sun.

"I knew it was quite a bad injury. When I got the results of the scan, I knew it would be unlikely I would make the Europa League final - but we also never ruled it out.

"I would jump out of bed and put weight on my ankle, which I probably should not have done, and test it to see if the pain was still there. Every morning I woke up wishing the pain would be gone. Unfortunately, it was not to be."

He continued, saying: "I knew for me to start the Europa League final was very unlikely but I hoped to play some part. However, it was out of reach and just not possible. Ahead of the final, I could still not run on the ankle.

"But it is now improving and getting better, so I am just looking forward to the Euros.

Do you think Maguire should start on Sunday against Croatia?

Let us know in the comments.

Topics: Harry Maguire, Croatia, England, Gareth Southgate, Euros

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

@jackkenmare_