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Raheem Sterling is set to give England manager Roy Hodgson a major fitness boost.

Manchester City forward Sterling is way ahead of schedule in his return from a groin problem and could even make the squad for Saturday's trip to Chelsea.

The 21-year-old has been out since suffering the injury last month in the Blues' Manchester derby defeat, putting him out of England's friendlies against Germany and Holland.

There were doubts whether Sterling would be fit before Hodgson names his 23-man squad for the Euros on May 12.

In pictures — England beat world champions Germany in Berlin:

But he has made good progress and is on course for a return to the first team — a major lift for City ahead of their Champions League semi-final first leg in a fortnight's time.

He was not quite fit for the Paris Saint-Germain game on Tuesday, but has been stepping up his work in the gym.

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Hodgson is a big admirer of Sterling and picked the then-Liverpool flyer, at age 19, to start against Italy in the opening game of the last World Cup finals.

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Sterling's return to fitness ahead of schedule will also put him in the frame to nail down a place in the England starting line-up for the Euros.

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Arsenal's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is also stepping up his recovery following a knee injury, and is expecting to be back before the end of the club season.