The 20-year-old, Oxlade-Chamberlain injured his knee in a World Cup warm-up match last week when England continued their preparations for Brazil with an entertaining 2-2 draw against Ecuador. However, his participation in the finals was not put into major doubt since scans showed that the Arsenal midfielder did not suffer a tear which could have been quite serious and caused him to likely miss the tournament.

The former Southampton player was expected to play a part in the latter stages of the tournament in case England qualifies from the Group of Death. However, he is now in line for an early return with Hodgson hopeful of him featuring against the all-important match against Uruguay, according to the Daily Mail.

After inflaming ligaments in his right knee against Ecuador, Oxlade-Chamberlain trained for the first time with a knee brace and afterwards Hodgson said, “He’s done very well and will work on his training programme during the course of the week.”