Gareth Southgate has welcomed Jack Wilshere’s return to form and fitness at Arsenal and offered the midfielder hope of regaining a place in the national side before the World Cup.

Wilshere, whose progress over recent seasons has been blighted by a series of ankle injuries, spent last season on loan at Bournemouth but, having entered the final year of his contract, he has established himself as a regular at Arsenal since the start of last month. His impressive form has been noted by Southgate and will earn the 26-year-old a new long-term deal at the Emirates Stadium, with talks continuing over an extension.

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“It’s a real plus to see him playing as well as he is and playing regularly,” said Southgate, who saw England selected in a three-team group with Spain and Croatia in Wednesday’s Uefa Nations League draw in Lausanne.

“He is a player whose quality nobody has ever questioned. He had a really bad injury that he had to get over at Bournemouth last year. It’s no surprise that took some time but he looks sharp and looks fit and is playing regularly, midweek games as well. That’s great because we want our best players to be available and in good form.”

Wilshere, whose 34th and most recent cap was gained in the ignominious exit from Euro 2016 against Iceland, will face stiff competition to regain a place in England’s midfield but will hope a prolonged spell in the Arsenal side pushes his credentials.

England face “high-quality” fixtures, according to Southgate, against Spain and Croatia in the autumn having been drawn in Group Four of League A as Uefa starts its Nations League, which will feature promotion and relegation and will replace the majority of friendlies.

Wales, under the stewardship of Ryan Giggs, will face the Republic of Ireland and Denmark in Group Four of League B. Northern Ireland, whose manager, Michael O’Neill, has agreed a new contract to 2024, will play Austria and Bosnia-Herzegovina in Group Three of League B. Scotland, whose pursuit of a successor to Gordon Strachan continues, will play in League C in a group with Albania and Israel.

Uefa’s new competition is designed to allow teams to play against those similarly ranked and will offer some nations who fail to qualify for Euro 2020 via the normal route a path into the play-offs.

“The whole concept of this tournament is that you play high-quality and competitive matches, so that criterion is fulfilled with the group we’re in,” Southgate said. “We haven’t played Croatia for a little while so we’re looking forward to that and, of course, Spain, one of the best teams in the world.

“It’s good to test ourselves in these games and we like the concept of fewer friendlies and the concept of games against high-level teams. I think that’s really important. We saw in November in matches against Brazil and Germany, the enthusiasm of the players, the supporters and everybody was a different level and that’s what we have to recreate to make international football meaningful.”

Giggs will be thrust into a reunion with Martin O’Neill’s Republic of Ireland, who pipped Wales for a play-off place in qualification for the World Cup. “There will be plenty of motivation there for the players but it’s a new start, obviously a new coach and a new beginning,” Giggs said.

A meeting with the Republic is set to pit Giggs against his former Manchester United team-mate Roy Keane, who is O’Neill’s assistant. Giggs described Keane as “a fantastic player and captain”.

The world champions, Germany, will meet France and the Netherlands in Group One of League A. Portugal – who won Euro 2016 – will face Italy and Poland in Group Three of the top division.