“He will have to be honest with me and let me know exactly how it is.” If Barry does not make it, Hodgson has strongly hinted that Everton’s Phil Jagielka will be the replacement. The move would be completely understandable as the England boss only named seven defenders in his squad to start with and, including James Milner and Phil Jones, has plenty of central midfield options should his resources become depleted. Jagielka was outstanding alongside Joleon Lescott in central defence on Saturday, the same defensive pairing that helped secure that excellent win over world champions Spain in November. And it seems the Everton man will get the call, which would make up for the disappointment of missing the World Cup due to injury. “I am prepared to reconfigure,” said Hodgson. “I am not necessarily looking to replace man-for-man in the midfield area because we have a lot of players in that area.” Although the worst is expected of Barry, today’s medical bulletin is not being feared with quite the trepidation that might have been expected. Scott Parker came through a 60-minute outing in Oslo with no ill-effects from his recent Achilles injury and, apparently, enough improvement has been shown by Danny Welbeck and Glen Johnson for Hodgson to allay any doubts over their involvement. “I am not worried about Glen Johnson. I am not worried about Danny Welbeck,” said Hodgson. “We have sorted that one out. “I am convinced they will be more than fit when they get on the plane to go to Poland.”

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England manager Roy Hodgson to demand honesty from Gareth Barry over groin injury