Liverpool youngster Harvey Elliott returned to the England Under-21 squad to take on Israel on Wednesday.
The 20-year-old was a surprise absentee as the Three Lions beat Portugal 1-0 in the quarter-finals of the European Under-21 Championship on Sunday.
Elliott’s omission came despite scoring a stunning solo goal in a group stage win over Germany four days earlier, prompting suspicions of injury.
However, This Is Anfield understands that the Reds midfielder’s departure from the English camp was pre-planned and related to a family matter.
And he’s already back with his Georgia teammates as they prepare for their midweek showdown with Israel in the semi-finals of the tournament.
Elliott will be hoping to use the next few days to prove he should be part of Lee Carsley’s favorite XI, having started in just one of England’s four games to date.
However, given the form of the Three Lions, who have won every game without conceding, it will be difficult for him.
It was that set of results that led Elliott last week to suggest that Carsley’s men should assess their chances of winning Georgia when he spoke last week.
“We want to win,” he said. “That’s our main goal, our only goal, to be honest. “We have a huge group and a great group of guys, with incredible talent, so who’s to say we can’t win.
“It’s just up to us to keep putting ourselves out there, to keep bringing this confidence to every game and to think we can go out there and beat anyone, which we can do. We just have to keep going.”
While Elliott was out, Curtis Jones made his third start of the tournament on Sunday, playing the full 90 minutes in Kutaisi.
England’s progress to the semi-finals means the pair may not return for pre-season with Liverpool until their training camp in Germany.
