Gareth Southgate decided to leave Jack Wilshere out of the World Cup squad after being unimpressed by his fitness levels during training before England’s friendlies with Holland and Italy in March.

The Arsenal midfield player returned to his club the day before the win over Holland because the manager was concerned that he was not fit enough to implement the high-energy pressing game that he wants to instil in a largely young and dynamic squad.

Wilshere is understood to have struggled to keep pace with some of Southgate’s training sessions, the legacy of a career that has been badly disrupted by injury. When the 26-year-old left the squad as England boarded a plane to Amsterdam, it was explained at the time as being due to