John Stones will lead England out for the first time at Wembley on Thursday, as he captains England in the absence of Harry Kane.
With Kane struggling with an injury and unlikely to face Greece, interim manager Lee Carsley hopes that England’s top scorer will be fit for the game in Helsinki on Sunday, with Stones given the responsibility of wearing the armband tomorrow.
“Harry’s nursing an injury, a small knock,” said Carsley at a press conference on Wednesday evening. “It’s something that we won’t take a chance with. We’re not ruling him out yet of the game, but he won’t start.
“Hopefully he will be in contention for Sunday, but again, time will tell. It’s not something we should be rushing.”
Kane, 31, has not trained this week since joining up with England on Monday.
Carsley broke the news to Stones on Tuesday night that he will captaining England against Greece.
“It was a great conversation that i was able to have with John last night,” Carsley said. “To ask him to captain the team, it’s a brilliant achievement for John, something that he deserves.
“With the amount of caps that he’s got, the experience that he’s got, the level of professionalism that he shows within the squad, the example he is to the younger players, it was a great conversation to have.”
Stones said he was “speechless” when Carsley told him at St George’s Park on Tuesday.
“It’s everything that i could have dreamed of as a kid, and more for my family, to be able to see me walk out as England captain is a special moment,” Stones said. “And one that I can’t thank Lee enough for. As he said, it was a great conversation that we had last night. One that i was a bit speechless in, but an incredible moment for me.”
Jack Grealish will also be assessed after picking up a “slight knock” on Tuesday.
“Our attitude would be that we wouldn’t gamble with any of the players,” Carsley said. “I think it’s important that we put them first rather than ourselves.”
England continue their Nations League game against Finland on Sunday.
(Eddie Keogh – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
