England boss Roy Hodgson has warned stricken Arsenal forward Danny Welbeck that he may not make his Euro 2016 squad until he can prove his fitness.
The 24-year-old, who has not played since April, underwent knee surgery on Thursday and could be out of action until the new year.
Welbeck has scored six times for the already-qualified Three Lions in Group E, but Hodgson says that he cannot afford to think about bringing the players that he does not currently have at his disposal.
"Welbeck bothers me now," he is quoted as saying by Goal.com. "He has already been out for me since March so that's over four months already.
"Now I hear it's going to be another six months, so I can only hope that Danny recovers a bit quicker and hits the ground running. I've got to make certain there are a few Jamie Vardys and Harry Kanes and Theo Walcotts because we can't keep going around talking about the ones who aren't there.
"What we're trying to develop is a bigger pool of players, to get that up to 30, where we can say: 'Whatever happens, as long as we can get 23 of this 30, we'll be OK.' Then you would have to be very unlucky if two or three in the same position went down. We don't need more than 30."
England thrashed San Marino 6-0 on Saturday evening to officially qualify, with Theo Walcott and Harry Kane among the goalscorers.
Shane Callaghan
