England manager Roy Hodgson has admitted that Raheem Sterling is firmly in his thoughts as he prepares to make a final decision on his starting XI versus Italy.
The Three Lions open their 2014 World Cup campaign against the four-time tournament winners on Saturday in the tropical climate of Manaus, in the North of Brazil.
Liverpool winger Sterling has been tipped to start following an excellent Premier League season and impressive displays in England training sessions.
A red card as a substitute in the 2-2 draw with Ecuador meant that the 19-year-old was the only outfield player not to start one of England's three warm-up games, but Hodgson stressed that this does not affect Sterling's seemingly good chances of being included in the lineup to face the Italians.
"Anytime you choose to select a player or not select a player, you can come up with reasons," Hodgson told reporters. "If you're asking me if I will hide behind that, to not consider him, then I won't because he's as fit as a flea and I'm pretty certain he hasn't forgotten how to play matches either.
"It was unfortunate he couldn't play in that game but I can tell you Raheem Sterling is very much in the group of players I'm considering.
"If I select him it won't, in my opinion, be a risk that he hasn't played so many minutes. And if I don't select him it certainly won't be because he has only played 39 minutes. It will be because I prefer someone else."
Whether Sterling starts or not could depend on the fitness of Danny Welbeck, whose thigh injury, picked up in a training session on Tuesday, will have been fully assessed in the next 24 hours.
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