James Maddison pulls out of the England squad citing illness

Few could have complained when Leicester City's owners decided to replace Claude Puel with Brendan Rodgers earlier this year. Having brought Liverpool agonisingly close to the title in 2014, Rodgers was well-settled in Scotland, having guided Celtic to consecutive league titles in 2017 and 2018. With his Celtic side leading the league by eight points, Rodgers left the club well primed to lift the title for a third consecutive season. And so began Rodgers' third stint in the Premier League. Tasked with rediscovering Jamie Vardy's magic touch in front of goal and eyeing a breakthrough into the league's top six, Rodgers had a huge task on his hands at the King Power Stadium. Out went the deadwood, and in came Portuguese full-back Ricardo Pereira, former United target Ayoze Perez, Belgians Youri Tielemans and Dennis Praet. Little did Rodgers know that the spark of creativity he needed was already in the squad he inherited from Puel.

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Maddison: A creative spark

James Maddison became the most talked-about midfielder during the tail end of the Premier League last season. But the Coventry-born midfielder has picked up right where he left off last season. Signed for a reported £21 million last season, the midfielder more than justified his price tag, having created 101 chances in the Premier League last season. Maddison went on to be known as a set-piece specialist in 2018, having delivered from a number of set-pieces during the season. A string of impressive displays for the Foxes meant that a call up to Gareth Southgate's squad was imminent. Maddison received his first call up to the England senior squad for the Euro Qualifiers in 2018. The creative midfielder, however, failed to make an appearance for the senior squad in 2018. 

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A blistering start to the 2019-20 season for Leicester City meant that Maddison was once again called up to Gareth Southgate's squad. Maddison looked set to make his debut for the Three Lions during their Euro Qualifier against Czech Republic. Maddison, however, pulled out of the England squad for the Qualifiers due to an illness. His withdrawal from the squad means that Maddison and the world will have to wait for the midfielder's senior debut for England. Maddison is the second player to pull out from the England squad, with fellow midfielder Fabian Delph having pulled out earlier due to a hamstring injury.

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